


A Game of Revolution

by LiteralTrashFor_Everything



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - No Frisk (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Bara Sans (Undertale), Because I tag way too much, But also not, But only slightly a badster, Ecto-Genitalia (Undertale), Ecto-Penis (Undertale), Ecto-Tongue (Undertale), Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Female Friendship, Fluff, Gaster is a dadster, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), More tags might be added, Protective Sans (Undertale), Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader has strange soul, Reader-Insert, Romance, Slow Burn, Soul Bond, The Underground (Undertale), Toriel is the best goat mom, W. D. Gaster Being An Asshole, monsters are underground
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-09-29 02:20:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 28,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17194652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiteralTrashFor_Everything/pseuds/LiteralTrashFor_Everything
Summary: It does not start off with resistance.  It often ends with resistance.  It starts with compliance, and often ends with fear that leads to resitance or revolution.  In the circumstance of a revolution your actions or beliefs, the only solution is to end it as quickly as possible.  In the event of you being the person revolting. . . . .r u n.Resistance is the key element in any good society, just as important as unification.  While resistance is often found to be an unecessary piece of society, it is important that it exists inside a select few.  It must guide them away from the society they know best.  It must guide them away from pain and sorrow, so that they may find unification somewhere far away from the cause of their suffering.//Chapters will be updated on Fridays, and potentially extra days throughout the week (frankly depending on how motivated I am)\\///UNDERTALE does not belong to me, nor do it's characters!  They belong to Toby Fox.\\\





	1. Introduction

The house felt empty as I stepped inside. I peeked around the entryway to the living room, which was a wrecked mess, just as it was everyday. I swallowed, scanning the area for the drunk man who often resides in this room and only in this room. Swallowing once more, I allowed myself to step into the room when I didn't see him slumped over on the couch or crashed on the floor.

I trotted up the stairs and into my room, carefully shutting the door behind me, letting it shut with a soft 'click'. I breathed out a sigh of relief once I was safe from the beast. I plopped onto my bed, cringing at the sound of the creaking springs of the mattress. It felt like the whole bed was about ready to just snap under my weight. I huffed, hunching over. I untied the laces of my boots, kicking them off my feet lazily. I leaned back against the wall, breathing out a tired sigh of relief.

I focused my eyes up on the stained ceiling, letting myself drown in the sound of the silence in the house. It was practically suffocating me, making it difficult to believe I was breathing at all.

"______!!" Rang out a loud scream through the house.

I felt a tremor wrack through my body. I swallowed down the fear, jolting up from the bed. On instinct, I snapped my hand toward the lock on my bedroom door. Before I reached it, the door flung open. I yanked my hand away before the door hit it, eyes darting up to look up at the furious man in the doorway.

"D-Dad-"

My head swung to the side as his hand collided with my cheek. I let out a quiet hiss from the afterburn, tears stinging the corners of my eyes.

"You forgot to fuggin' pick up beer, didn't ya!"

I rubbed the sore spot with a shaking hand, ignoring the thought that begged me to just leave the house. I shoved the thought to the back of my mind.

"You had beer in the fridge," I spoke up softly, "I didn't have enough cash to afford more beer, so I figured it could wait."

I flinched as he raised his hand, quickly raising my arms to block the smack. It never came. I shakily lowered my arms, looking up at the man anxiously. He stared down at me, a scowl on his chapped lips. His eyes burned with hatred and anger, but he didn't hit me again. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"You don't EVER assume that anythin' I ask for can wait, understand?" He hissed.

I nodded frantically.

"Y-Yes, sir. I'll pick it up tomorrow. Honestly, I will. I-I just need a little bit more cash, if that's alright."

Dad glared, his eyes narrowing. He reached into the pocket of the grimey jeans he was wearing, which I was half-certain were the same pair he'd been wearing for the last week and a half. He dropped a wad of cash onto the bed. His hand went to my jaw, grabbing it and forcing my eyes away from the cash on the bed. He reeked of the smell of alcohol and sweat. It made even more tears burn in my eyes.

"I expect you to have the fuggin' beer tomorrow, understand?" His words slurred.

I nodded immediately. He released his grip on my jaw, before storming out, slamming the door shut behind me. I released the breath I'd been holding in, looking back down at the cash. I pulled out the small backpack from underneath my bed, shoving the cash into the front pocket of the bag with a soft sigh.

Tomorrow **might** be different.

I slumped in my bed for a few minutes, sitting there and letting the silence take over one more. Letting out a shaky sigh, I stood up, legs wobbling. I opened my bedroom door, swaying across the hall and into the disgusting bathroom across from it. I wiped off the nastiness from the mirror with an old towel that was laying on the bathroom floor, looking at my reflection. I poked at the bruised cheek softly, wincing as pain shot through the sensitive area.

I reached under the sink, digging through the cabinet, before snatching up a bottle of bruise cream. It was one of the nicest things I owned, frankly, save for the small locket that my mother had given me before she dashed off with her new and improved boyfriend.

I scowled at the thought, applying the cream over the bruised area, almost like a nightly ritual.

Tomorrow **could** be different.

I hid the cream under the sink once more, the only place my dad didn't dig for alcohol. I returned to my room, going to my closet. I tugged the few shirts that I had off their hangers, stuffing them into the backpack underneath the bed. I did the same with the few pairs of clothes I had, fitting as many things as I could in the small backpack.

I stuffed it back under the bed, before changing into some sleep shorts and an old, oversized t-shirt that I'd stolen from a time when my father still loved me.

Tomorrow **will** be different.

I flopped back down into the bed, once again cringing at the sound of the moaning springs. I rolled over slowly to save myself from the horrible sounds, wrapping my arms around the single pillow on the bed. I let my eyes close slowly, and let sleep overtake my exhausted mind. Sleep came easily.

But nothing lasts long.

I woke up to the door all but being thrown off its hinges. My heart sank and I jolted up from bed, eyes snapping up toward my father. He grabbed a fistful of my hair.

"WHERE'S MY FUGGIN' MONEY!" He screamed. "YOU STOLE FROM ME!"

I shut my eyes tightly, crying out. I clawed at his hands, tears streaming down my cheeks.

"I-I didn't steal from you, Daddy! You gave me the money for the beer!"

"LIAR! YOU STOLE FROM ME!" He hissed, throwing me down onto the floor.

I trembled, lying on my stomach, coughing up sobs. My eyes snapped toward the backpack hidden under the bed. I stared at it hard while he screamed at me, occasionally kicking me in the ribs with only the loudest words.

No.

Today will be different.

I reached beneath the bed. My fingers at first grazed the fabric of the handle, before snatching the bag completely and yanking it from the floor. I swung it over my shoulder, crawling up from the floor. I dodged his fist, darting through the door.

"GET BACK HERE, _____!"

Swallowing down my terror, I stumbled down the stairs. I took a sharp turn toward the front door, hesitating only for a second as I contemplated my situation. I let my fingers hover over the doorknob, the sound of my father's heavy footsteps almost as loud as the heartbeat ringing in my hears. Without a second more of hesitation, I whipped open the door and ran out into the street, feeling the air whip behind me as my dad reached out to grab my hair once more.

My feet slammed on the concrete. My mind was fuzzy, the only thing ringing through my brain was to **r u n**. I had to **k e e p r u n n i n g.**

Dad's screams rang out behind me, probably waking up the whole neighborhood. I simply ran straight, letting a strangled laugh echo from my lips. I threw my arms out triumphantly, the widest grin on my face as I realized for just a split second that I was **_free_**.

But only for a split second.

"I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!"

His voice was much closer than I anticipated. I all but felt the physical drop in my chest, picking up my pace. Hell, I didn't even know I could run that fast. I was even half-certain that the bottom of my feet were bleeding. I hadn't had time to slip on any shoes, nor did I have time to put on anything other than the shorts and t-shirt I was currently wearing out in the freezing cold of the sketchy suburbs of Ebbot City.

The fence of the edge of town came into view. It was the entrance to freedom and the exit to hell. The entrance to the only place my father would never search for me. _The way to Mount Ebbot_. I stared at the barb wire fence as if it was my last resort.

It was.

Adrenaline forced more energy from me than I originally anticipated. I forced the barb wire apart, ignoring the pain as the barbs dug into my hands. I'd be forever thankful for my small size as I squeezed through the opening rather easily. A hand snatched my ankle, and I found myself being, dragged in the opposite direction of raw freedom.

A scream tore from my lips as the barb tug into the skin of my calf as I was dragged backwards. I clawed at the dirt, frantically trying to escape his hold.

"YOU'RE DEAD, _____! YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD!"

I thrashed, somehow managing to get my leg out of his hold. I crawled forward, before picking myself up off the ground and running toward, into the trees and toward the mountain. I ignored the pain in my leg, for the souring realization of freedom was stronger than the pain. I laughed, tears streaming down my face as I ran away from a life that I was determined never to return to.

Today was different.

 


	2. After the Revolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear that I will try to make the next chapters much longer. Worked my ass off on this chapter honestly, but I'm pretty proud of how everything turned out! Please enjoy!

The futher I got from the screaming was the quicker that my adrenaline faded. I found my run slowing down, before I was walking, then stumbling, and finally collapsing. My breathing was quick, and I was almost terrified of blacking out right then and there. I panted, digging my fingers into the dirt. I stared at the emptiness ahead, eyes fading in and out of blurriness. The pain in my leg and hands became more apparent. I found it difficult to keep my eyes open, and it wasn't long before I found myself in a place of real emptiness.

The blackness was suffocating. It was like there was no air to breathe, only a black void that filled my lungs.

 

**_~~keep going~~ _ **

　

 _Keep going?_ I found myself searching for the voice that spoke in a language I couldn't understand, but still processed through my mind. I reached out for something. Someone. Anything. But no one came. . .

I opened my eyes, finding myself still laying stomach-first on the ground. I dragged myself up from the ground, using my arms to push me out of the dirt. I grabbed the backpack that was now laying on the ground, dragging it at my side as I stumbled forward. I could have sworn it wasn't this cold before. . .

I swallowed down the pain and the chill, continuing to stumble through the forest. My father's screaming was no longer heard, and I found that to be a relief. The forest around me was dark, and I didn't stop to think what creatures could possibly be living in the silent forest. Frankly, being eaten by one of them would be more fullfilling than living another day in that house with my father.

I let out a quiet laugh at that idea, before sucking in a deep breath of the fresh air, pausing in my steps. If I was gonna die, then at least I'd die not being surrounded by the rancid smell of alcohol and drugs. A tired grin spread across my lips.

I eventually came to a place where my mind finally stopped screaming at me to keep moving forward. I sat down on a rock, tugging the bag off my shoulder and setting it in front of me. I dug through the contents, finding that I thankfully packed a jacket. I tugged it over my shoulders, breathing out a shaky sigh of relief as it was slightly warmer than what I had before. I continued digging through the bag, before my fingers grazed over an old shirt that I'd packed. I tugged it out, tearing off a strip from the bottom of the shirt and wrapping it around the deep cut on my calf. I tore off two other strips, wrapping them around my hands, where the barbed wire had dug into the skin. I stuffed the remaining cloth into the bag, as more of a 'just in case'.

I hunched forward, letting the silence sink in. Tears pooled in my eyes, dripping into the dirt at my feet. I sniffled, trying to wipe them away.

**_Freedom._ **

I laughed out loud, probably sounding like a maniac to any random person. But I didn't care. I'd escaped the confinements of that house. I'd escaped the constant hold that my father had on me since I was a kid.  I grinned to myself as I stumbled back to my feet. I grabbed the backpack, continuing my trek up the mountain.

Hiking up Mount Ebbot was certainly not how I'd planned this entire situation to go. I'd planned to steal my dad's car, maybe get a few towns over before ditching the stupid pedo van of my father's and walking the rest of the way to some bus station that would take me far away from Ebbot City and into some town where I would meet the man of my dreams and have four children in a decent sized house.

I sighed at the lost thought.

_Right, man of your dreams. . . As if._

It was a distant wish now, and I decided that it would be best if I just let it go. Maybe I could do that once the manhunt for me ended with my father. He was bound to give up eventually, but for right now I was damn certain that he'd slap a missing person's lable over my name first thing in the morning, if he hadn't already, and by that point half of Ebbot would be looking for my face. Despite the size of the city and the crime rate, it wasn't often that someone went missing.

I felt my eyes droop the further I got up the mountain. Exhaustion was becoming something I couldn't push aside anymore. I sighed, dropping the backpack, finding myself in a small clearing on the mountain, though it could hardly be considered a clearing. I slumped in the grass, which was much softer than the dirt I'd been laying on not an hour or two before. I rested my head on the backpack, deciding to just sleep for a...small. . . amount. . . . . of time.

 

**_~~you must keep moving forward~~ _ **

　

It was diffucult to understand the person speaking. Were they even speaking? I searched for the person, trying to call out to them.  What language were they even speaking?

"Hello?" I called out quietly, forcing my eyes open.

I sat up, looking around at the clearing surrounding me. I searched for a person. There was no possible way someone had followed me all the way from the city. The only person behind me was my father, at least that I could recall, and there was no way it was him or I was certain I'd be dead by now.

 

_**~~i am not your father~~ ** _

　

I shuddered, whipping my head around so quickly that I could feel the bones in my neck let out a series of quiet pops. I stared up at the creature that was standing behind me, terror coating every piece of my body and freezing it in place momentarily. A scream tore from my lips, and I found myself crawling backwards, away from the terrifying monster.

"G-Get away from me!" I yelled.

The creature tilted it's head. A low chuckle rang around the two of us, as if it were amused by my terror. I stared up at it, eyes wide.

 

~~**_no need to be afraid. you are the one who called out for me, darling._ ** ~~

　

I stared up at it, swallowing down another scream. If I was gonna die then so be it. Instead of grabbing me or killing me like I'd expected it to, it leaned forward, seemingly examining with the two pinprick eyes in the pit's of what looked almost like the skull of a skeleton. Not necassarily a human skeleton, just a skeleton. Black ooze dripped from it's sockets, but never actually fell into the grass, seemingly dissipating before it could land. It had a smile stretched across the skull, a long crack on the top right side of the mouth, leading up to the socket, and another crack going up from the left socket. The body was seemingly completely made of the black ooze, save for two skeletal arms that dangled at it's sides.

I dug my fingers into the grass.

"W-What do you mean I called out for you? A-And why can I understand you? What even are you?" I stuttered out.

 

**~~_slow down, darling. just think about my words. focus on them and it will be easier for the both of us._ ~~ **

 

I bit my lip, dragging it between my teeth anxiously. I contemplated his words for a while, running them through my head over and over, and subconciously doing the exact thing he'd told me to do. He leaned forward, his grin stretching.

" ** _Do you understand ~~me~~ now, darling?"_**

I focused on him, giving him a small nod in response. His voice was deeper than I realized with that other language. It was rich, and smooth. Oddly... comforting, compared to the voice of the person who'd surrounded me for my whole life.

"Who are you?" I ignored his question.

**_" ~~My~~ name is ~~Gaster.~~ But that does not matter ~~now~~. I need you to listen closely. You must keep moving ~~forward~~. Your father is coming for you."_ **

There was a beat of silence, before my breathing picked up. I found myself reaching out to the creature in fear. He took my hand, the bones of his hand freezing cold as he tugged me to my feet. The eyelights in his sockets bore into my eyes, practically burning holes into my pupils.  His grin stretched wide across his skull.

_**"Run."** _

I did not hesitate. I snatched up the backpack from the ground, taking off up the mountain. I didn't spare a glance behind me. I thought I was _safe._ Why would my dad be chasing me now? He hates Mount Ebbot due to the superstition and rumors. Not only that, but he was certainly not the type of person to hike up a mountain. He would rather pay all the money in the world to have someone else hike up that mountain to hunt me down.

There was absolutely no way my father would hike up this mountain.

**_There was absolutely no way my father would hike up this mountain._ **

_**There was absolutely no way my father would hike up this mountain.** _

_**There was absolutely--** _

I found my foot slipping, and I yanked my body backwards to stop myself from falling forward. My eyes widened as I stared into the abyss that my foot was all-but dangling into.  I stumbled backwards about a foot, eyes wide as I stared into the hole.

_I'd almost died._

I felt the ground beneath me shift, and I let my entire body stiffen as I realized what was happening seconds before it actually happened.

The ground gave out beneath me. A scream tore through my lips. I frantically reached for anything to grab ahold of as I fell, finding nothing but the air that frantically whipped around me. Fear ripped through my chest, and I suddenly found the fear of what would happen as I reached the bottom completely unbearable. I found myself fading back into the familiar void of unconciousness.


	3. Fallen

The pain in my head was unbearable. I let out a soft moan from the pain as it gradually got worse and worse, spreading throughout my entire body and leaving a constant ache through every muscle and bone. I tore my eyes open staring up at the distant light directly above me. It was so distant it could almost be mistaken for a single star in a black abyss.

I sat up slowly, cringing at the popping of my joints. How long had I been laying there? I scanned my surroundings slowly, trying to make out the blurriness of the world around me. I'd fallen down that hole... But wouldn't I have died if I'd really fallen that far? Maybe I was already dead. I looked at the cushion beneath me, seeing the shape of what looked like a flower. I blinked a few times, finally allowing my eyes to focus. They were flowers. I was sitting in a patch of yellow flowers. which must have somehow cushioned my fall. They each had a faint glow, but not enough to illuminate the area around me.

I stumbled to my feet, cringing at the pain that jolted through my calf as I remembered the cut that was still there. Swallowing down the urge to puke as my stomach churned, I stumbled forward, toward the only opening I could see. There had to be a way out... right?

I found myself standing in front of an entryway to what looked like ancient ruins. I stepped through it, into the dark room that lay ahead. I gripped my side, pausing at the sight of a simple yellow flower which seemed to somehow be illuminated in the center of the room. A sense of dread overtook my senses, and I found myself unable to take another step forward. I stared at the flower.

"Howdy!" A voice chirped. "I'm Flowey, Flowey the Flower!"

The flower seemed to turn toward me. I stared at the face on the flower, letting my jaw fall open in shock. It grinned at me, tilting its...head?

"You must be new around here! Wowie, you look like such a mess!"

I stumbled backwards.

"H-Holy shit, I really must be dead, huh?" I had truthfully only meant to think that, but my mouth ran quicker than my brain at the moment.

The flower only laughed.

"Not dead yet, pal!" It chirped.

I swallowed, keeping my distance. I examined the flower, who didn't make any move to come any closer. It clearly expected me to move toward it, but I found myself unable to take a single step in any direction.

"Yet?" I questioned slowly.

"Oh! Silly me, that's of course not what I meant! Here, let me show you something!"

White seed-looking things formed a line above the flower. He grinned wider, using a vine to gesture to the seeds.

"These are friendliness pellets! If you hit them, they will heal all your injuries! You want that, don't you, pal? You wanna be healed, right? Those injuries sure look like they're hurting you bad!" He chuckled.

I didn't move.

This had to be fake. All of it must've been some stupid dream. I was probably blacked out in some ditch bleeding to death from my head. There was absolutely no way I was standing here talking to some creepy-ass talking flower who claimed he could heal my injuries.

"No..." I breathed out the protest.

His eyes twinkled almost dangerously.

" ** _No_**? No!? Who do you think you are!?" He hissed, the mood completely changing. "I don't need your permission anyway!" He giggled sadistically.

I flinched at the soft tug at my chest. I darted my hand up to my sternum, where the tugging came from. The breath was sucked from my lungs as a soft glow surrounded me, lighting up parts of the dark room we were in. I curled my fingers around the fabric around my shirt, eyes snapping toward the now silent flower.

"Your soul..." He mumbled finally.

I stared at the floating object between us. I reached toward the small heart, fingers grazing over the edge and sending a pleasant shiver through my body. The flower laughed, staring at the soul with wide eyes, his face contorting into something horrifying. The pellets shot toward me. I dove to the ground, hitting the dirt with a painful 'thud'. I groaned softly, curling in on myself as I felt an overwhelming pain throughout my whole body.

The flower laughed, staring at the floating heart, which two of his pellets had collided into. I snapped my eyes back up toward it, staring at the trembling white heart with tears stinging my eyes.

"W-What did you do?" I whispered.

There was the sound of shattering glass. The two of us watched in complete silence as a piece of the heart fell and collided on the dirt, hitting the ground with a small 'clink'. I fell to my knees, reaching out and taking the broken piece in my hand, clutching onto it tightly. I looked up at the rest of the heart, which was cracked in many places, but no other parts fell off.

"Your soul SHATTERED!" The flower giggled. "It shattered and all it took was one attack! What's WRONG with you!?"

I stared at the terrifying creature, grabbing the remainder of the heart and clutching it to my chest as an overwhelming protectiveness took over my senses. I had to protect this... whatever it was. He opened his mouth to continue his shouting, only to pause as a purple light caught our eye. He whipped around, being met with what looked like a fireball to the face. When the flame faded, Flowey was no where to be seen.

I looked up at my savior, clutching the small heart to my chest, hands trembling in fear. If this was a dream then it was terrifying, and much too real for my tastes. At this point, I was half-certain I'd rather be dead, if I wasn't already.

"Oh, dear! What a wicked creature..."

Footsteps moved toward me. I stared at the tall woman who was walking to me. She kneeled beside me, examining my face for any injuries. I stared at her features, almost goat-like. She had white fur, which looked soft to the touch, like a bunnies fur, only thicker. She had soft red eyes and two small horns that rested just above her long ears. She reached out, resting her paw over my hands, which clutched onto what Flowey had called my 'soul'. Well, if it really was my soul then there was no way I was letting it go.

"It is quite alright, my child... You can trust me... I am Toriel..." She spoke softly and slowly, which I was grateful for considering that my head was pounding.

The woman pulled my hands apart, staring at the broken heart in my hands. I swallowed down my tears. I wouldn't let them fall.

"T-That stupid flower said it was my soul, b-but that's insane, right?"

I wasn't sure why I was asking the woman. I didn't know this "Toriel", nor did I know even _what_ she was. I just wanted answers, or to wake up from this stupid dream. Sadly, I was beginning to think that this really wasn't a dream, and that I simply had royally shitty luck.

"Oh, my darling..." She carefully took the soul in her large paws. "This is very bad... I have never seen a human soul like this one."

She glanced at the broken piece in my hand, before her gaze wandered to the poorly wrapped bandages around my knuckles. Toriel then examined the rest of my injuries.

"Come, my child. I shall heal you-"

"No way!" I snapped. "That flower said he would heal me, too, but then he hurt me and shattered my... soul? Or heart? Whatever that thing is!"

The woman stared silently for a few moments, before she let out a soft giggle. She leaned forward, giving me a comforting look, before pushing the heart back into my chest. I watched the light from it fade, before it was gone completely, and I was holding the broken piece in my palm. It's glow was much softer compared to the rest of the soul. With my soul back in place, I felt almost... whole.

Toriel took both my hands in hers. I flinched, tugging my hands away from her hold.

"How about a deal, my child?" She smiled. "As I heal you, I will give you the answers to any question you ask, alright?"

By now, the two of us were sitting on the ground. I gulped, looking at my surroundings, debating her offer. She really did seem honest, unlike that flower who I didn't trust from the moment I'd stepped into this room. Toriel seemed much kinder, and the look in her eyes told me she really did want to help me.

"Alright... Fine."

I gave Toriel my hands.

"What would you like to know first, my child?"

I watched her hands light up in a gentle green light. I stared in awe.

"What is that?" I asked.

She chuckled.

"That is healing magic."

I nodded. I bit my lip, feeling the warmth in my hands as she used the magic. I didn't really question what she was doing. I just nodded, because at this point, it was really all I could do without seeming like a bigger idiot than I already felt. The way she was answering me made it seem like these things were just common knowledge.

"What was that thing that attacked me?"

"I'm...not sure. His name is Flowey, and I have seen him multiple times in the Ruins. He usually keeps to himself, glaring at us from a distance."

"A-And that...heart. What was it and why was he so interested in it?"

This time, Toriel bit her lip. Or, what I assumed was her lip. She sighed softly, releasing my hands. She placed her hand on my calf instead, beginning to use her magic there now.

"That was your soul, my child, the very culmination of your being. It is often colored, ranging from red to blue, but yours... well, yours is quite different from any I have seen. Souls are very important in the Underground, and if I understand correctly, they are not important on the surface." She looked at me for an answer.

"Well, uh, we actually don't even know they exist..." I blushed sheepishly, almost embarrassed at my own...species?

Toriel chuckled.

"That does not surprise me. Humans are not capable of bringing out souls like monsters are, not unless they are mages."

I almost wanted to laugh at the term "mage". It reminded me of a time when I had joined a Dungeons and Dragons club in high school, and had created a mage character. Granted, that is just a game, but damn if magic wasn't the coolest thing. Now it seemed even cooler for the simple reason that it actually existed.

Toriel lifted her hand from my calf. She smiled, standing up. She wiped off the purple dress she was wearing. I quickly unwrapped the bandages around my hands. The injuries were completely healed. In fact, there wasn't even a single sign that there had ever even been an injury there in the first place. The injury on my leg was the same way. I rubbed the skin softly, in awe.

"That's so amazing... Thank you so much." I looked up at her, a grin spreading across my face.

Toriel laughed softly. She held out a paw for me to take.

"You are very welcome, my child."

I stared at the paw, debating on whether or not I should take it. Finally, I decided I could trust the goat-woman. She had healed my injuries, after all, so I didn't have any reason not to trust her. I took the large paw, and she tugged me to my feet. She began guiding me forward.

"I will take you to my home here in the Ruins. I must see what I can do to fix that broken soul of yours. Do not lose that piece of you... It is very important..."

I looked down at the glass-like shard in my palm. The edges were oddly smooth, which was the only sign that showed it wasn't really just a shard of glass. It also faintly glowed, but it was a much weaker glow compared to the rest of the soul it came from. I swallowed, rubbing my thumb over the surface. Unlike the first time I had touched my soul, I felt nothing. Not a small tickle, not a light poke. Just...nothing...

"That flower... He said there was something wrong with me after my soul shattered. What did he mean?"

I looked up at Toriel. She stared ahead, holding my hand as she quickly guided me through what looked to be puzzles. She hummed softly to herself, contemplating an answer to my question.

"Souls... shatter when the person dies," she spoke softly, "I have never seen a soul that partially shattered. You are very lucky to have survived this."

I tugged at my lip anxiously, once again finding my eyes staring at the shard in my palm. _I could have died._ That statement proved that I wasn't really dead, and that this wasn't really some dream. I was really here, with Toriel, and holding a piece of my own soul in my hand. Still though, my royally bad luck didn't seem to be getting any better, despite the previous realization.

"Lady Toriel! Who is this?" A small, squeaky voice asked at my feet.

I looked down, staring at the knee-high frog creature at my feet. My eyes widened. He seemed to be staring up intently at me, despite the question being directed toward Toriel. Said woman let out a soft sigh, tugging me forward. I stepped over the creature, making sure not to accidentally kick it.

"Do not worry about it. Just make sure to inform the other monsters of her presence here. Do not attack her under any circumstances, understand?" Toriel ordered.

Despite the fact that her voice was still as gentle as before, I realized that she wasn't asking. She was dead-serious. I wondered why she cared about my well-being so much, but decided to momentarily push the thought aside.

"Understood, Lady Toriel."

The frog-creature gave me one last glance, before hopping away. Toriel whisked me forward, tugging at my arm gently. I had to all but jog just to catch up with her fast pace. Her strides were much longer than mine, considering that I was nearly two feet shorter than the woman. I examined her features once more, my mind rambling on about what she was.

As we walked, I thought about some things. Mount Ebbott was obviously well-known. I mean, hell, our city was named after the mountain. I recalled the things kids used to talk about in school, the legends about the mountain. That it was 'cursed', and anyone who climbed it had gone missing. I remember our crazy old history teacher had claimed that monsters lived under the mountain and kidnapped those who climbed the mountain to eat them. For so long I had thought it was just him trying to keep us from climbing the mountain, perhaps it was, but right now the rumors were becoming more and more real to me that I ever thought they would.

Toriel gently tugged at my hand, pushing open a door to what looked like a small house. She guided me inside, a small smile on my face.

"I know it is quite small, but it should hopefully be a comfortable fit for the two of us to live in together, yes?"

Toriel looked down at me, her red eyes shining with hope. I stared up at her.

"T-Together? I-I don't think I understand what you mean, miss..."

Toriel laughed softly. She rubbed the back of her neck almost anxiously, averting her gaze.

"Well, I was hoping that... perhaps you might want to live here in the Ruins with me. I would take care of you, my child. Oh dear, I suppose this must seem silly to you. You are not a child, and I am not your mother. In fact, you hardly know me. But, I would quite like someone to stay with me," Toriel explained with what almost looked like an embarrassed blush beneath the fur on her cheeks.

I let out a soft laugh, a smile spreading across my lips.

"You want me to live with you...? L-Like... Like be your daughter?"

Toriel blinked twice, seemingly shocked by the question. I regretted asking it soon after. God, what a stupid thought. I hardly knew this woman.

"That was stupid, I'm sorry..." I looked down at my feet.

Toriel giggled softly. Her arms wrapped around me, and she tugged me against her in a tight embrace.

"I would very much like to think of you as a daughter."

I smiled, tears welling in my eyes. I wrapped my arms around her, clenching my fists in the fabric of her dress. I swallowed back a sob, shoulders trembling softly. I'd never had a mom before. Not a proper one. It seemed strange that I suddenly had this woman to be my mother-figure. We had literally just met, yet here we are.

"Alright, my child, let's get this soul business under control, shall we?"

Toriel pulled away, ruffling my hair. She looked at the shard that I was still holding in my hand. She hovered a hand over my chest.

"May I?"

I nodded, watching in awe as she gently tugged the soul from my chest, using some type of invisible magic. Toriel didn't physically touch the soul, simply scanning her eyes over the cracked surface.

"I'm... not sure how to heal a soul..." She admitted softly, "but you seem to be healthy enough, despite all the cracks. If there is anymore cracking, I will need to be informed immediately, alright?" Toriel was completely serious. She wasn't asking me, she was _telling_ me.

I nodded in response. Toriel returned the soul to my chest. She smiled, taking my hand and guiding me to the right, where there was a long hallway. She stopped outside the first door.

"This will be your bedroom," she said, "I will have to prepare a more...grown up room for you, but for tonight this should do."

At first I was confused as to what she meant. That is, until she pushed open the door, revealing what was obviously a child's bedroom. I stepped inside, looking at all the dusty children's toys, along with old children's clothes and shoes. I ran my finger over one of the toys gently, the pad of my finger gathering up the dust on it. I wiped it off. The aura in the room was...sad, almost. There was a story behind all this, but the look on Toriel's face urged against asking what the story was.

"Thank you, Toriel..." I said softly, sitting on the bed. It was surprisingly large for a children's bed.

Toriel smiled, sitting down beside me. The bed let out a soft creak with the added weight. It reminded me of my old bed at home, but no where near as uncomfortable. She smiled, placing a large paw in the center of my back, rubbing over an old bruise soothingly. She didn't know it was there, but I couldn't help but feel the pain fading from her gentle touch.

"Of course, my child..." She spoke softly, almost in a whisper. "I shall see you in the morning. I bedroom is right down the hall if you need anything. Do not be afraid to come in."

I nodded, unable to stop the grin that spread across my face. Toriel laughed softly, giving a soft pat to my back, before she stood up and exited the room. I laid down, tugging the blanket up over me. It seemed freshly washed. There was not dust on it like there was on the other items in the room. I wondered if she recently had another guest... No, that didn't seem right. Perhaps she was expecting someone to fall like I had.

I hummed to myself, deciding to worry about that later. I cuddled into the comfortable bed, shutting my eyes and quickly falling asleep.

　

_**"You survived the fall, ~~I~~ see..."** _

_I looked around the dark area surrounding me. I wasn't in Toriel's house any longer. My chest sank, and I frantically searched for an exit. No, this couldn't be happening. I had just gotten there! I can't already have lost my new home!_

_**"You didn't..."** The voice sighed in response to my thoughts. **"You are still in Lady Toriel's home, asleep."**_

_I caught sight of a familiar monster figure. The skeleton from the clearing now stood in front of me, towering over me just like he had been doing that day in the clearing. I took a step back, stumbling a bit over the darkness beneath my feet. It seemed like I wasn't even standing on anything._

_**"I have brought you to the Void,"** he explained, a hum in his tone as a smirk spread across his face, **"it gets quite lonely here, you know."**_

_"W-What? But I saw you, in the clearing!"_

_The creature laughed, folding his arms behind his back. He circled me, like a lion circling a gazelle. I didn't let my eyes wander from anything but him. He smiled, his eyes meeting mine._

_**"I was not there physically, my dear. I was in your head. And, yes, before you start freaking out because you believe you are insane, I am a real being. I am not just a figment of your imagination,"** he chuckled lowly, **"my name is Gaster. W.D. Gaster, to be precise, and I am of the monster species, just like Toriel."**_

_I stared at the skeletal hand he was holding out to me. I hesitantly took it, shaking his hand slowly. After a moment, I pulled my hand away. Gaster continued circling me, letting out a sigh. I mentally questioned the logic behind that, considering that he was a skeleton, before letting my mind wander to the real situation._

_"You tricked me!" I snapped finally. "You tricked me and now I've fallen down that hole!"_

_**"Is that really so bad, my dear? You seem to have a much better life down here than you did up on the surface,"** he sighed boredly, waving off my accusation._

_"W-Well, yes, but now something is wrong with my soul! I could have died!"_

_**"But you didn't,"** he smirked, **"and about that soul of yours, I've never seen such a thing happen before. It's quite facinating, you must allow me to see it-"**_

_"No..."I snapped._

_**"Well that's rude,"** Gaster chuckled, **"I just wanted to see what might have caused such a thing to happen."**_

_I glared at him. I took another step away from him, holding my hand in front of my chest as if I was guarding a sacred treasure. I narrowed my eyes at him._

_"I don't trust you," I stated._

_The skeleton didn't seem fazed. He finally waved his hand at me, sighing._

**_"Fine..."_ **

_We both went silent. I finally allowed my gaze to wander. This Void place was dead silent now, save for my quiet breathing and steady heartbeat. We were standing in complete darkness, yet I could see Gaster easily, despite the lack of light._

_**"The Void is an empty universe. It's distant from the one you reside in, from the one I used to reside in. This one was most likely a Universe much like ours, but it was erased, leaving behind this empty blackness in it's wake."** Gaster hummed thoughtfully._

_"Is it just you?" I questioned._

_He was silent for a few moments._

**_"No."_ **

_I regretted asking. I wasn't sure why, but that answer was completely unsettling. How could more things reside here? There was absolutely nothing. I would have gone insane if I lived here. I decided against questioning him anymore about the other creatures in the Void._

_"Why are you here?"_

**_"I came here intentionally, but now I cannot leave. I was working on a study on Void magic to try to better understand my son... But I trapped myself here. I suppose it is a fate I should have seen coming after everything I'd done."_ **

_Gaster suddenly seemed very distant from me. I swallowed, unsure how to respond. His words held a dark meaning, an almost familiar one. I wasn't sure how to respond. I didn't have time to respond before Gaster was waving his hand at me._

**_"I must return you to your Universe now, my dear... Being in the Void, even mentally, for too long is dangerous. Especially if something else senses you..."_ **

_I opened my mouth to question him, before finding myself being blinded with a distant light. The Void rapidly faded from my view._

 

I jolted up from the bed, hands gripping the comforter of the bed. I breathed heavily, swallowing down a breath of air that I felt like I hadn't taken in forever. I looked around, half expecting to see the skeleton standing at my bedside. He wasn't there.

The room was empty, save for the single slice of pie that was sitting on the bedroom floor, still steaming with warmth.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super long chapter, at least I tried to make it one, haha. I'm gonna be doing a double update today because I'm releasing this a day late. Whoops. I got a bit behind in writing this chapters because I kept changing it. I'm satisfied with this one though, and I hope you guys will be too. Enjoy!


	4. Knock-Knock

I walked alongside Toriel though the Ruins. She hummed a tune softly to herself, a basket of ingredients hanging from her arm. It had been a few weeks since I'd joined Toriel in her home, and things were going quite well. There were no other encounters from Flowey, and by now I had practically met every monster in the Ruins. They were still cautious, but they were gradually beginning to adjust to me being here.

"Toriel, is there anything outside of the Ruins?" I questioned finally.

Toriel blinked twice, looking down at me.

"Why? Are you looking to leave the Ruins?"

I waved my hands quickly, shaking my head with an awkward laugh.

"No, of course not! I just... I was just wondering. You know, I've seen that door in your basement. I was just wondering if there is anything else beyond it. Are there more monsters?"

I had a feeling I already knew the answer. I was just curious how she'd respond, if she even would. Toriel tended to avoid subjects that she wasn't comfortable with, and I was about half-certain that this would be one of those touchy subjects.

"Well... Yes, there is more out there. A whole kingdom, in fact."

I stared up at her. She had a distant smile on her face. I wanted to know more about this kingdom. I already knew that there was something out there, considering that by now I'd read half of the books she had in her bookshelf. A kingdom was mentioned a few times.

"Are there more monsters like you?" I questioned.

"Not particularly," she laughed, "but there are many monsters out there who are kind. Sadly, there are also monsters who would like to kill you, if you left the Ruins."

I decided against bringing up the other monsters to Toriel after that, and she distanced herself from the topic. We walked into the house. I lazily kicked off my shoes, sighing softly. Toriel wandered off, most likely to the kitchen to make dinner. I walked to my room.

It was a bit different than what it was when I first arrived. The children's toys were put into boxes, along with the clothes. I had added my own clothes into the dresser and wardrobe, along with ones that Toriel had made me. She was frankly talented at everything. Toriel had insisted on getting me a bigger bed, but I was satisfied with the one I had. It might've been a children's bed, but it was plenty big enough for me. It was actually bigger than my old bed.

I pulled out the small sash from my belt, opening it and gazing in at the small shard from my soul. I carried this with me everywhere, Toriel's orders. She insisted that I never lose it or give it to anyone.

"Wow there, pal, you really have a life going here," a familiar voice giggled.

My eyes snapped up, toward the flower who was staring at me with a smirk. I quickly closed the sash.

"Get out before I call Tori," I hissed.

Flowey waved his pedals in dismissal, rolling his eyes.

"Relax, I'm not here to do anything. I just wanted to greet my pal."

I frowned, glaring at him.

"I'm not your "pal"! You tried to kill me!"

Flowey groaned, but he had a wide grin spread across his face. He even chuckled a little. He was probably replaying that day in his head. Sadistic little fuck...

"Oh come on, bud, that was in the past! I haven't bothered you since that day, have I?"

"You're bothering me right now..." I grumbled.

Flowey ignored my last statement. "Anyway... you know that kingdom that the old goat was talking about?"

I opened my mouth to yell at him for calling Tori an old goat.

"-yeah well, that place is pretty great. Wouldn't you like to go out and check out what's out there?"

I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"No way in hell, you stupid little demon! I'm fine right where I am."

I knew he was testing me. It was his thing. He was a little monster who just loved to disrupt the happiness of things. I definitely wasn't gonna fall for his stupid little tests. Besides, what I was saying was true. I was fine where I was. Even if, yes, I would like to know what's out there, I didn't really have any desire to leave. Especially if it might upset Tori.

"Pfft, you really are stupid. You wanna be stuck in these Ruins until you die?" He raised what almost seemed like a brow.

I huffed.

"Better than leaving the Ruins and dying because someone doesn't like humans."

Flowey huffed, opening his mouth to probably start yelling about how stupid I was, before the door opened. I looked at the door, before looking back at the flower to smirk. He was gone. With a frown, I stood up and opened the door. Toriel smiled kindly.

"Dinner is ready!" She said.

A smile spread across my face. I followed her to the dining table, which she had set for the two of us. I sat in my usual spot, and she sat across from me. She had my plate already prepared, along with her own. I looked at the delicious meal, mouth watering. Ever since I came here, I'd been eating better than I ever had in my life. She was a phenomenal cook. I instantly dug in. The two of us ate in silence for a while. She was the one to speak up first.

"How is your soul feeling, my dear?"

I looked at her, confused.

"My th'oul?" I blurted with a mouthful of food.

Toriel giggled softly, before coughing. She smiled.

"Yes. Are you feeling alright? You aren't feeling sick or anything, are you?"

I swallowed down my food, humming in thought.

"No, of course not. I feel fine."

I wondered where the questions were coming from. I had been feeling fine for the past four weeks. Then again, she would occasionally ask how I was doing, just out of the blue.

"I'm glad to hear that," Toriel smiled, "it's just that I've been trying to find out more about your soul. My research sadly hasn't been going well."

I bit my lip softly.

"Well, if anyone can figure it out, I'm sure you could. But really, you don't have to worry, I'll be alright."

Toriel sighed. She looked down at her plate, poking at her food.

"Thank you, my child... But I don't think you understand. Your soul isn't whole, and I can't find anyway to fix it."

I tugged at my bottom lip, staring at my own plate. I was now poking at my own food lazily with my fork. I wasn't sure how to respond. I was the last person who'd know how to handle all this soul business. According to Toriel, humans weren't capable of taking their own souls out.

"I have a friend looking into things for me," she finally stated, "he's someone I trust. He's also someone who knows more about souls than me."

Toriel's had a friend? Oh gosh, that sounds worst than I mean. It's just that I hadn't seen her talking to any friend. Then again, it wasn't like I was living every second of my life with her. I didn't know about her friend, just like she didn't know about my meeting with Flowey. Correction, my _unintentional_ meeting with Flowey.

"Anyway, my child, I just wanted to inform you that I was looking into things involving souls. I only know the basics." She laughed.

I hummed.

"Could you tell me the basics?" I asked.

Toriel seemed impressed that I was interested in learning about souls. Finally, she smiled. She stood up, grabbing my plate and hers.

"Of course. Just one moment."

Toriel took our plates to the kitchen. She returned a few moments later with two coffee mugs, which I quickly recognized as tea. I smiled, taking one from her, thanking her. Toriel took her seat across from me.

"What would you like to know, my dear?"

I tried to think of an easy question, instead of just dropping a hard question on her from the beginning. I tapped my fingers lightly on the warm mug in my hands.

"Why is it so important to monsters?" I finally asked. "I mean, humans don't even know they exist..."

Toriel took a sip from her tea.

"Well, I suppose it is because they are what we are made of. Monsters aren't made of matter, like you humans are. We're made completely of magic. Our magic originates from our souls. Not only that, but our souls choose our soulmates..."

I perked up instantly.

"Soulmates?"

"Yes, soulmates. Do humans really not find their soulmates?"

I shook my head, wanting to know more. Toriel looked almost shocked.

"No wonder humans live such short lives..." She hummed thoughtfully. "A soulmate is a person who your soul is completely compatible with. Sometimes it is quite difficult to find your soulmate, and it is fairly rare to find the right person... There is only one person in the world that can be your soulmate, and everyone has one. I suppose it would be difficult for humans to find thier soulmates... Your world is much bigger than ours. It is difficult to find your mate if they are on the other side of the world."

I bit my lip. Soulmates are a real thing? That was... so amazing. But now that I was down here, I supposed I'd never mind my soulmate... They were on the surface somewhere, probably already married to someone else without even knowing that they had a soulmate.

"Do you have a soulmate?" I asked softly.

Toriel's smile faded just slightly. She stared down at her tea, in her thoughts.

"I do... But he is very distant from me now..."

I decided to quickly change the subject, noting the sadness in her voice. I had a feeling that her soulmate story didn't have a happy ending.

"What's it like to have a soulmate?"

Toriel perked up once more.

"Well, it is quite amazing, actually. It's like... having someone who will always understand. At first you don't realize they're your soulmate. It took me weeks before I realized it, but Asgore seemed to have known for much longer than me," she laughed a bit.

Asgore? That must be the name of her soulmate. She seemed to lighten up when she spoke about him, even if there was still a darker undertone behind it all.

"You see, soulmates can... bond. It is like marriage, I suppose. It's a committment. You are sharing half of your life with them, and they share half of theirs with you. But bonding is...well... it is only something that can happen when you're intimate with that person..."

Both our cheeks flushed. We were silent for a few beats, before we both burst into snickers. She decided to move on.

"Not only that, but the only person who should ever physically touch your soul is your soulmate. Seeing a person's soul is an intimate thing. Anyone outside of your family or a doctor of sorts should not touch your soul, or even try looking at it."

The more she spoke about it, the more I realized how big of a pervert Flowey was when he pulled out my soul. He had to of known all this... He seemed to know enough about souls to at least know that they're a private thing... God, what a pervert...

"So when Flowey-"

Toriel stopped me.

"Yes..." Her eyes darkened a smidge. "He should not have done that. He certainly knows better."

I swallowed, taking in all the information. I decided to stop questioning things, and instead finished my tea. I stood up.

"I should get to bed..." I said.

Toriel nodded, standing up and collecting my mug. She smiled, placing a soft kiss at the top of my head.

"Of course, my dear. I shall see you in the morning."

I returned the smile, before heading toward my bedroom. As I got ready for bed, I thought about the information she'd given me. I hadn't expected any of what she had mentioned. Soulmates? That was such a beautiful idea. I wondered what my soulmate was like...

They were probably insanely attractive... But, even if they weren't I'd still love them. Maybe they were a doctor, or a fireman. Still, whoever it was was very far away. And I didn't need a soulmate to make me happy. Toriel made me happy enough...

I laid down in bed, breathing out a soft sigh as I drifted to sleep.

　

_At first I'd thought I was in the Void. I searched around for a sign of Gaster. It occurred to me afterward the the Void was black. Where I currently was... well it definitely wasn't black. It was Toriel's house, more lit up and shining than usual, as if it was being brightened by the sun. I wandered around the house, eyes darting around curiously._

_"Toriel?" I called._

_I heard a hum from the kitchen, following the sound. I froze at the sight, my heart sinking. Toriel was on the ground, her eyes blank. Flowey hovered above her, chuckling lowly._

_"Well hello there, pal! I was just playing with your momma here. She's no fun though, really!"_

_He smirked widely, eyes flashing red. I backed away rapidly, before turning and running. I had to get away. I had to warn the other monsters in the Ruins!_

_"Nuh-uh! You're being naughty~!"_

_Thorned vines wrapped themselves around my wrists and ankles, dragging me into a kneeling position on the floor. I cried out, struggling against their hold, not caring as the thorns dug into my skin._

_"Let me go, you monster!" I screamed._

_Flowey giggled, appearing in front of me. He stared at me intently, before he tugged out my soul from my chest. A vine wrapped around the small heart, squeezing it, allowing more pieces to fall to the ground. I cried out as pain engulfed me. I was seeing stars._

_Flowey giggled loudly. It was echoing in my head, just like the image of Toriel laying limp on the floor. I cried, trembling._

_"Bring her back! You have to bring her back!"_

_"I **HAVE** to, huh?" He ran a vine across my cheek, before delivering a slap that was so hard it made my head swing to the side._

_When the blurriness of my vision faded, I found that I was no longer in Toriel's house. In fact, I wasn't even in the Ruins. I was on the floor of my old bedroom, clutching my stinging cheek with tears burning in my eyes._

_"O-Oh god... Oh god, no..."_

_"______, I TOLD YOU I'D FUCKING KILL YOU FOR STEALING MY MONEY AND RUNNING AWAY!"_

_I tried to crawl away, sobbing. I dug my nails into the wood, urging my broken body to move forward._

_"NOT THIS TIME!"_

_His hand tangled in my hair, dragging me to my feet. My legs wobbled as he dragged me out of the room._

_"Daddy let go! Please let go!" I sobbed._

_He released my hair, cackling. He instead gripped the collar of my shirt, pushing me backwards. I felt my feet hit the edge of something. I nearly fell backwards, but he held me out. I clung onto his sleeve, begging him not to let go._

_"Don't let go! Don't let go of me, Daddy!"_

_I knew what was behind me. It was the hole I'd fallen in on the mountain. I wouldn't survive a second time! I just wouldn't! Dad only laughed, staring at me with fury burning in his eyes. He released my shirt, and I went falling backwards into the abyss, screaming._

　

I jolted awake, letting out a cry as I frantically tried to crawl backwards, falling out of bed in the process. I hit the floor with a 'thump'. I tried to regain my breath, laying on the floor, focusing on the ceiling above me. I was back... I was back in Toriel's house... It was just a nightmare...

I hoped I hadn't woken Toriel, but based on the silence in the house, it seemed that I hadn't. I stood up, letting my legs wobble a bit. I wiped at the tears in my eyes, shakily exiting the bedroom. I silently walked to Tori's room, gently pushing open the door. I had to make sure it was really just a nightmare. I had to make sure my mom was okay...

Toriel laid in bed, asleep and snoring softly. I slumped against the doorway for a moment, staring at her sleeping figure and processing that everything was alright. I let out a relived sigh, shutting the door before I really did wake her up. I ran a hand through my slightly sweaty hair, deciding against going back to sleep for the night. I walked past my room, looking at the stairs that led to the door I'd questioned Tori about earlier than day. I let curiousity get the better of me, and it guided me down the stairs, in the direction of the door. The closer I got, I realized that there was a light knocking on the door.

I stared at the door, standing on the other end of the hallway from it, listening in silence. Two taps came from the door, followed by a deep chuckle from whoever was on the other side.

"knock-knock..." They mumbled to themself.

I listened silently, letting them play out the joke to themself.

"who's there? a door... a door who? i a-door you."

They snickered to themselves, and I couldn't help but smile at the joke. I walked toward the door, resting my back on the door and sliding down to a sitting position. I silently listened to the person mumble more knock knock jokes to themselves. Finally, I decided to respond.

"knock-knock..." They mumbled again.

"Who's there?" I answered.

They went completely silent. I giggled quietly, covering my mouth. Whoever it was had definitely not been expecting an answer. For a moment I thought that they'd evacuated, that was until the deep voice spoke again.

"you."

"You who?" I smiled.

"calm down, you've already got my attention."

It took me a few moments to get the joke, and once I did, I let out a loud laugh. The person chuckled from the other side of the door, seemingly pleased by my own amusement.

"hey, why did the skeleton always hang out by himself?"

My smile widened.

"Why?"

"because he was _bonely_."

I giggled again, listening as he continued babbling out jokes. I forgot about the whole nightmare by the fifth joke, and decided to come back with my own. I tapped on the door twice with my knuckles, grinning to stop myself from laughing at my own joke before it was said.

"Knock-knock."

The person on the other side of the door chuckled.

"who's there?"

"Voodoo."

"voodoo who?"

"Voodoo you think you are, asking me so many questions?"

We both laughed at the lame joke. I grinned widely, resting my head back against the door. We fell into a peaceful silence after we finished laughing. For a moment, I even wondered if the person on the other side had gotten up and left. I shut my eyes, almost drifting to sleep before he spoke up again.

"what're you doin' up so late?"

It was the first actual attempt at a conversation he'd made since I got here. I hummed thoughfully.

"I could ask you the same thing."

He chuckled on the other side of the door.

"touche, mystery girl."

We both snickered softly. I heard shuffling from the other side, and what almost sounded like the crunching of snow.

"i better get home. my bro's gonna worry if i'm not home in the morning," he chuckled, "nice jokin' with ya though."

I smiled.

"You too, mystery boy."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm... I wonder who could possibly be on the other side of the door. Suppose we'll never know... Anyway, enjoy this chapter. Tried to make another long one. Hopefully I succeeded. Next update will be next Friday, y'all!
> 
> Also, this chapter was not edited (frankly neither was the previous one), so try to ignore any mistakes that were made. I'll get to editing eventually XD


	5. Broken

I breathed out a sigh, my back resting against the heavy door that was seperating me from the rest of the kingdom of monsters. I had hoped to see (and by see I mean hear) that man again, to share more lame jokes with him. Sadly, it didn't seem like he was there.

 _'Of course he isn't,'_ I thought bitterly, _'it isn't like he's obligated to be standing outside some door all day'_

I breathed out a quiet huff, tapping my fingers on the cool rock of the ground I was sitting on. My fingers drifted to the small, very small, gap between the door and the ground. I almost didn't notice the small white flakes that peeked from beneath the door. I let out a soft laugh, poking at the small amount of white fluffiness. Sure enough, the flakes were as cold as ice. Guess there really was snow on the other side of this door. How the hell does that even work? Whatever. . . Probably better that I don't question it.

I stood up after a while, patting off my butt before I headed back down the long hallway that led to the rest of the house. It'd been three days since I'd talked to the monster on the other side of the door. As much as I loved the Ruins, I had found myself drifting back to the door at late times in the night after waking up from a nightmare, hoping to talk to the punny monster on the other side. Still though, it was late and I shouldn't expect him to be out there everytime. I mean, come on, I didn't even know the guy's name. I suppose I just sometimes wanted to meet new people, as much as I loved my time in the Ruins with Toriel.

I sauntered back up to my bedroom, laying down on the fluffiness of my bed. I tugged the blanket to my chest, thinking about the nightmare. They'd been coming every single night since the first one, mostly the same, but not all of them included Flowey. Frankly, Flowey was the least of my concerns most of the time. I wasn't particularly afraid of him. . .

I was afraid of being completely alone again, as selfish as it was. I was afraid that if everyone in the Ruins was killed, then that'd be it. My one and only source of happiness, completely obliterated without a second thought in the world.

Still though, I was more afraid of going back to my dad.

I was afraid this was some stupid false reality, and I was actually in some hospital room in a coma from my dad shoving me down the stairs. I was terrified that maybe I'd wake up soon, and that I'd be back with him, in that house. I wouldn't have this comfortable bed, amazing friends, and a real mom. . .

I teared up. My hands instantly shot up, wiping at the tears frantically. No, that isn't going to happen. You're here, you're really here with a comfortable bed, amazing friends, and Toriel.

I turned to the side, hugging my pillow, and allowing my mind to drift to more pleasant thoughts. My mind fell into a peaceful slumber, a much more comfortable one than the one from earlier that night.

　

Toriel hummed as she cooked. I watched her, sitting on the counter beside the sink. I stared at the purple fire she casually had lit in her palm, using it to heat up the pancake mix. Questions were bubbling at my mind. Not only that, but I had the strangest urge to reach out and stick my hand straight into the purple light. Of course, common sense told me how terrible of an idea that was. Still. . . The urge was there.

"Tori, how do you use that stuff?"

I hadn't meant for the question to come out as an insult. Thankfully, Toriel looked amused at the question, crimson eyes glacing at me.

"Do you mean how I physically use this 'stuff', or why I choose to use it?" Her tone was playful.

"Uh. . . Both?" I laughed a bit.

Toriel snickered softly. She stopped cooking the food, turning her full body toward me to focus on the question. She smiled, holding out her hand, igniting a much smaller flame in her hand. I wondered momentarily how it didn't singe the white fur of her paw, but decided against questioning it since the usual answer to everything involving monsters was simply 'magic'.

"Well, in a more physical sense, the magic comes from my soul. It is more like a physical part of me. The strength of a monster's magic comes from the strength of their soul, especially in Boss Monsters."

"Boss Monsters?"

"Boss Monsters are a rare form of monster who are. . . exceptionally stronger than most. While there are very strong monsters who aren't Boss Monsters, they don't even compare in power. Boss Monsters have very strong souls, most of which can momentarily persist after the death of the monster."

"Wow..." I hummed in thought. "They're rare?"

"Very," Toriel smiled, "there are a very select few of them, as I'm aware. So far I only know of Asgore, the previous Royal Scientist, Gerson, and myself," she stated thoughtfully.

My eyes widened.

" ** _You're_** a Boss Monster?"

I decided not to question the others that she'd mentioned. It was the first time she'd mentioned actual names of anyone outside of Asgore. Not only that, but I was in amazement that Toriel was an exceptionally strong monster.

"Yes," she giggled, looking embarrassed.

I grinned widely. I stared down at the small flame still ignited in her palm.

"Why is it purple?" I asked.

Toriel hummed in thought. "Well, you see, monster souls don't have color to determine their traits, much different from humans. Monsters reflect their personality traits through the color of their magic. Mine is purple, for perserverence, and green for kindness. There are different colors for different traits, and granted, it is fairly rare for more than one type of trait to show in a monster's magic, but Boss Monsters often have two that show."

I thought about what she said, choosing my next words carefully as I asked my next question.

"You said monster souls don't show color in their souls like humans do. . . why doesn't mine have a color. . .?"

Toriel instantly stiffened at that. She showed signs of guilt in her eyes and on her expression. She swallowed, clearly contemplating a proper answer.

"Well. . . I'm not really sure, to be honest. Most humans show their traits in the color of their soul, but yours was just white. Perhaps it has something to do with the breaking of your soul?"

No. That wasn't what it was. My soul was white before Flowey had ever shattered it.

"My soul was white before it shattered," I tried to explain, but stopped short when I saw the troubled look of her expression.

I swallowed, falling silent. Toriel looked worried, and I had a feeling it was because of the lack of color in my soul. There was something wrong with it. Something that was wrong with it before I was ever even hurt. That bothered me, probably more than it bothered Toriel. I didn't understand how I could possibly be more. . . broken. . .

"Color in souls tends to fade after severe amounts of pain," her voice was quiet, "pain or poor health can cause the color to dim. I had also heard rumor that when a human's soul color fades, then only their soulmate can see it, but I could be mistaken. I simply read it in one of my old books."

I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat. No wonder my soul was so screwed up. I had been undergoing pain for as long as I could remember.

Toriel must have sensed the tears building in my eyes as I frantically urged them to just go away. She pulled me into her arms. I clutched onto the soft fabric of her dress, breathing out a shaky sigh and begging my past life to stop catching up with me and ruining everything.

"We'll find a way to fix your soul, alright, my child?" She murmured softly, softer than I'd ever heard her voice before. "I will help you, and we will find a way for your soul to heal. You'll have color soon enough."

I let her words soothe away the tears, and soon enough we were both happily eating a well-made meal at the dining table. The day went on like every other one. The two of us took care of her small garden, then went to the head of the Ruins to check for any humans, then I'd wander off to play with the small amount of children in the Ruins. After all that, I'd just end up in bed, twitching from the nightmares that constantly plagued my mind.

Soon enough, my bare feet were padding on the wooden floor of the house. I walked down the steps, toward the door in hopes of telling jokes with the monster from a few days ago. I paused at the sound of soft talking, belonging to a voice that was much more familiar than the deeper one.

"She is. . . troubled. . ." Toriel's voice spoke softly.

I knew it was rude to evesdrop, but curiousity was really getting the better of me. I stood behind the corner, at the turn just before the door, close enough where I could hear both voices.

"troubled?" I recognized it as the voice from the funny monster a few days ago.

"Please. . . make me a promise, sir. . ." Toriel begged.

"i don't do promises, lady."

His statement didn't stop Toriel from making her request, but it did make her pause for just a few moments. Or, maybe she was just thinking about the best way she should word it.

"I ask that you take care of her. She will need protection and I beg that you don't allow anyone else to harm her in any way. She means. . . the whole world to me. I don't even know your name, but I ask that you promise you'll do this for me. She needs help, and you're the only person I know who can make sure she safely reaches help."

Toriel's voice echoed through not only the coridoors, but also through my mind. I replayed it over and over. She was talking about _me_. Was she seriously sending me away? The silence that followed was enough to scream the answer at me. The man on the other side wasn't answering, and there was a sense of anxiety in the air that wasn't there just moments ago. I wondered momentarily if he'd left, completely uninterested in the request.

"i promise. . ." He finally muttered. "i promise i'll watch 'er, and i'll make sure she gets help."

The promise was another scream of an answer I already knew. Toriel really was sending me away, out there. It must've had something to do with my soul. Toriel had looked so worried all day, and I shouldn't have expected her to push the conversation from earlier aside and simply forget about it.

"Thank you..." She almost whispered, but I was certain the man had still heard her.

Still, no response came.

I backed away from the scene, allowing my feet to rush me back to my bedroom in a flurry of tears and hurt. At the same time, my mind screamed at me to have faith that Toriel was only doing what she thought was best. She thought I needed help with my soul, and I internally knew she was right.

That didn't make the pain any less painful, though.

I didn't know that mna, and I'd only talked to him once. It made me feel completely exposed since a man I didn't even know the name of would be watching over my well-being.

Still, I decided that Toriel had a very good sense of character, and that I should trust the decisions she made. I knew she really did care about my health and happiness. And, since she'd done so much for me already, I figured I needed to do the same. I had no reason not to trust Toriel, and I certainly had no reason not to trust the man she'd put me in the care of.

Trusting Toriel was the most I could do to show my gratitude. I didn't have much to give, but I definitely had that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's a day early, but I really felt like updating this story. Feels like it's been too long. I might consider doing updates two times a week. Frankly, I have nothing better to do than write, so why the hell not hah. Yeah, I'll have another chapter out tomorrow night, most likely. I'll definitely try to pop one out, but if I don't then it'll be out on Saturday.
> 
> Also, thank you all for the amazing feedback I've had on this story! It's honestly giving me so much hope that this might actually go somewhere, and that makes me super happy. I'm so grateful for everyone who's taken time out of their days to comment or leave a like. Hell, I'm grateful for the fact that you just read the story. I hope I can keep up an amazing story, and I know it's going slow but it is a slow-burn after all, hah.
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy this short little chapter everyone! I know it's kinda sad, but it'll get better, I swear. I'll definitely try to lighten things up more in the coming chapters!


	6. heya there, pal

I knew it'd been coming since the night before, but the next day dragged on like no other. It was difficult to hold back the urge to just _ask_ Toriel, but then she'd know I'd been evesdropping and I really didn't want to have that known. I decided I'd just wait for her to bring it up to me herself.

The days that dragged on went slower than ever. I almost thought that maybe I'd misenterpreted it by the time the fourth day had come and gone without a single mention from Toriel, save for a small conversation about how I was feeling and if my soul was better. By the end of the fifth day, I'd even gone to the door to see if that monster was outside, mumbling jokes to himself again like the first time we'd met.

Of course, I wasn't about to ask about me leaving the Ruins.

When I heard the deep mumble of a 'knock-knock' joke, a smile instantly formed on my lips. It wasn't even night time and he was here. Maybe I should've been coming in the daytime instead of the middle of the night.

' _No fucking shit,'_ my brain scolded.

I ignored it, walking toward the door. He tapped his knuckles on the door, chuckling as he mumbled a 'knock-knock' to himself. I almost let him play out the joke, before deciding against it. It was more fun to play along with it.

"Who's there?"

A deep chuckle instantly followed my question. I sat in front of the door, sitting cross-legged. I stared up at the door like an excited child waiting for their parents to get home from work.

"hive."

"Hive who?"

"hive got a sore hand from all this a'knockin'."

I laughed, despite how awful the joke was. I grinned, hearing him chuckle from behind the door. Momentarily, I admired the sound of his voice. It was deep, but not comically so. It was. . . soothing actually, but much different from most voices I've heard.

Was it weird to be admiring this guy's voice? I'd like to think not, considering that the voice was the only thing I actually had from him. His voice and the fact that he's hilarious.

"hey, what type of art do skeleton's like?"

I could hear the amusement in his voice from the joke. I snickered just at that. He didn't wait for my answer, delivering the punchline before I could ask.

"they like _skull_ -ptures."

I snorted, snickering into my hand. So lame, but still amusing. This guy got better and better with each lame joke. He seemed pleased by my laughter, continuing on with his jokes.

"what's a skeleton's favorite past-time?"

I giggled.

"Dunno. What?"

"telling lame jokes because he thinks he's _humerus_."

I was grateful I had paid attention in my anatomy class, otherwise the joke could have gone straight over my head. Thankfully, I remember the name of the upper arm bone, and snickered in response.

"You sure like skeletons, don't you?" I joked.

I could hear his deep chuckle from the other side.

"you could say that."

We fell into momentary silence. Thankfully, he was the first to talk before I said something dumb.

"so, kid, thought you disappeared or somethin'. that or you really don't like comin' down here during the day."

I smiled, turning and leaning my back against the wall beside the door. I hugged my knees to my chest, humming in thought.

"Nah, I just have other stuff going on during the day."

"ah, gotcha. well, i'm glad you came down to laugh at my lame jokes. gets boring just mumbling them to myself like a crazy person. i really needed someone to practice them on."

I laughed, nodding even though he couldn't see me. I snickered at my stupid action, feeling stupid afterward. I didn't mention the random nod, deciding to pretend like it never happened in the first place.

"That's understandable."

There wasn't much room left for conversation as I heard Toriel's voice calling for me from upstairs. I stood up, wiping off my pants.

"Gotta go, Mom's callin'," I chuckled, "I'll see ya around."

I'd blurted the words without really thinking, and didn't give myself time to think them over as I dashed up the stairs, missing the quiet mutter 'sooner than ya know'. Toriel was in her usual chair when I found her. She had an anxious smile on her face, and it dawned on me the conversation that was about to take place. This had to be it. This just had to be. . .

Toriel stood up, breathing out a shaky sigh. She urged me to sit in her seat. I did so, blinking in confusion. Was it something different? She seemed really nervous. Did she think I wouldn't understand what she was doing? I'd definitely thought it over the last few days, and I found myself understanding perfectly. Still, the way Toriel was pacing in front of me, the more anxious it made me.

"Are you alright?" She finally asked.

I blinked twice.

"Uh, yes, of course I am."

For a moment I thought she was about to question me about talking to the monster behind the door. Was I not supposed to talk to him?

"Darling, I feel as though we need to have a discussion about your health," came Toriel's response to my statement.

Toriel sighed, finally meeting my eyes. She kneeled in front of me, taking my hands in her paws. She must have sensed that they were cold, because she squeezed them and used her magic to gently heat them.

"Your soul is broken, and uncolored. . . Do not fear, I have not told anyone about your condition. I ask that you hear me out before making a decision, and I understand if you do not want to go. I just. . . I feel that you need to see a doctor. Outside of the door is a kingdom, and a Royal Scientist who has supposedly promised to look at your condition and take you into her care. I have a friend outside, who has promised to get you to this doctor and keep you from being harmed."

I couldn't help but ask.

"How do you know he'll keep his promise?"

Toriel sighed softly.

"I trust that he will keep his word." Was her only response.

I decided that her answer would have to be good enough for me, and let her continue to explain the situation.

"This monster said he would make sure you got to this doctor, but I did not tell him the reason you needed to see this doctor, and I suggest that you keep it to yourself for now. Your soul is very fragile. It would be very easy for someone to take advantage of you, which is why I put you in the care of someone. Now, when you get to the doctor, I suggest you tell her every bit of the truth. Your guardian claims she will do her absolute best to help you, and I trust him in that, so I sincerely consider this offer. Both parties have sworn their secrecy."

By 'secrecy', I assumed she meant because I was a human. They must've known then. Though, I wondered why it had to be so secret. Wouldn't most monsters be able to tell that I'm a human?

"Secrecy? Wouldn't people be able to tell by looking at me?"

Toriel smiled sadly.

"Most monsters have never seen a real human. They only have heard of them. So, no, they would not be able to tell by looking at you."

I decided that was enough questions for now. Toriel was staring at me, clearly expecting answer right away. I pretended to think about it, but I already knew my answer. I'd known my answer for almost three days now, but I was grateful that she was _asking_ me what I wanted to do, instead of just forcing me to leave.

"I'll go. . ." I finally answered.

Toriel looked so relieved. She wrapped her arms around me tightly.

"As much as I hate to say this, I was hoping you would go. . . I want what is best for your health, my daughter. You are very important to me, and I couldn't bear watching you suffer if I could potentially find a way to help you. I'm sure this doctor will help you with your soul."

I smiled, but there was a tinge of sadness that ran through me.

"Am I not coming back?" I asked finally.

Toriel's arms tightened around me. She 'tsk'ed, as if it was a stupid question, which it probably was, knowing me.

"Of course you can come back. The only thing I suggest is that you stay somewhere close to this doctor until they have found a cure, or at least a way to help. My dear, you may keep in contact with me through your phone, but I want you to know that I cannot keep the door to the Ruins open. . . I can, and will, only open it when you want to permenantly return here."

I bit my lip, tugging at it with my teeth anxiously. I didn't want to live somewhere else, but Toriel was right. And if she didn't want to keep the door open, then that was her choice.

"Alright, Mom..." I said softly.

Toriel's arms momentarily tightened around me once again, before she released me. She smiled, though I could tell that it was slightly strained. She took my hand, guiding me out of the chair and to my bedroom. Together, we packed my clothes, having small talk about what I'd see when I left. Frankly, I became more excited the more we talked. Perhaps leaving and seeing more of the monster's world wouldn't be so bad. . . The Ruins were getting awfully small, after all.

"What's this guardian guy's name, anyway?" I finally asked, shoving one of Toriel's hand-knitted beanie's in a bag.

Toriel paused for a moment. The look on her face gave me my answer.

"You don't know it. . ." I deadpanned.

Toriel laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck.

"I suppose it never came up. . .?"

I rolled my eyes, laughing at her. I shook my head, shoving the last of the clothes I could fit into the bag, before zipping it up. Toriel placed a motherly kiss on the top of my head. I let my gaze drift up to her face. She had tears in her eyes.

"I will miss you."

I smiled.

"I'll call you every day, alright?"

Toriel wiped her tears away, laughing.

"You better."

Toriel ruffled my hair, before standing up. She helped me off the floor, handing me a coat that she must've recently made. That'd explain why she waited a few days to tell me. . . She smiled, taking my hand once I'd slipped it on, along with some gloves, and guiding me to the door where I had not long ago been talking to my supposed 'guardian'. I was anxious to meet him, and I wondered what kind of monster he'd be.

She stopped outside the door, kneeling in front of me and wrapping me in a tight hug. We stayed like that for a long time, and I savored this hug that I knew I probably wouldn't feel for a long time.

"I'll see you soon enough, my daughter."

I smiled, teary eyed. Toriel pulled away after another few minutes. She turned toward the door, placing her paw plat on the cold surface, before pushing it open with little to no effort. I gave her one last sad glance, before stepping out into the new world. My shoes hit the cold snow, crunching beneath my weight. The door closed behind me quicker than it had been opened.

No going back now, I guess. . .

I swallowed down the fear that was suddenly building inside me. There wasn't a guardian waiting for me, or anyone, for that matter. I was surrounded by what looked like an endless forest. The trees were so tall, towering over probably some of the tallest trees on the surface. They were covered in a thick foot of snow. Above me was a ceiling that must've been so high that I couldn't even see the top over the thick coat of what seemed to be clouds. Then, directly ahead of me was a straight trail, covered in a layer of snow, like everything else.

I shivered, tugging my coat tighter around my body. It was a lot colder than I'd imagined. Still, I was grateful Toriel had given me the coat or I'd be literally freezing.

I let my eyes wander, searching for this so-called "guardian". I had no idea where he'd be, if he'd even still be waiting around for me to leave. Crap, what if he forgot? Or what if he changed his mind last minute? What if he decided that helping a human was too much to handle? What if he told someone that I'd be here and now every monster that wanted to kill me was on their way?

The last thought sent a jolt of fear through my entire body. I hugged my upper arms tightly.

I let out a shaky breath, staring at the cloud that followed. I took a step forward, deciding to move onward. Nothing was going to get done if I stood around. If he really had abandoned me, then I'd just find my own way to this Royal Scientist.

The trail was long, and I found myself stumbling occasionally as I discovered a rock hidden beneath the snow, or a small dip in the ground. I grumbled curses every time I tripped, and occasionally, I swore I could hear a snort from behind me.

I found that I was constantly looking behind me, paranoia tugging at me. Was someone following me? I tried to push the unsettling thought aside, continuing forward. I swore there were footsteps in the snow behind me, but I tried not to look back and let paranoia take control.

When a large branch came into sight, I sped up to examine it. It was huge, and I raised my eyes up to the trees. It must've been a branch that had fallen, and I imagined it falling onto someone. That would hurt like a bitch. What if another one fell?

Fuck. Great. Now I'm even more paranoid. . .

I grumbled a curse, continuing forward at a quicker pace. The idea of a giant branch falling on my head was definitely not an appealing thought. Man, I can't even imagine what'd happen if-

SNAP

I whipped around so quick that my feet slipped from beneath me. I landed hard on my ass, quickly sitting up with my arms supporting me. I stared at the now broken branch with wide eyes, too distracted with fear to even process the coldness of the snow beneath me.

"W-Who's there?" I stuttered.

I felt like a classic horror movie character right now. I was literally going to die and I hadn't even been ten minutes out of the Ruins.

Of course, there was no response to my question.

I quickly stumbled back to my feet. I backed away, before turning and speed walking forward. I would run, but frankly, I didn't trust my balance enough to not fall hard on my ass again. I decided speed walking would have to be good enough. Fear was running through my veins, urging me to pick up my speed. That, and there was obviously a bridge coming up ahead and-

There were heavy footsteps behind me. I didn't stop this time, until I noticed the bars across the bridge. Of course, I could easily slip through them considering that there was enough space to fit two of me through it, but it still gave me a moment of pause. The footsteps got closer, and I debated on whether or not I should run or just stay completely frozen.

I ended up doing the ladder, considering that I was all but paralyzed with fear.

I was gonna die. I was gonna die. I was gonna-

"hey, pal. . . turn around and shake my hand. . ."

Wait a second. . .

I turned slowly, looking up at the giant monster that stood behind me. My eyes widened, and the monster's grin spread wider, as if he were amused by my shock. He was a giant skeleton, with white eyelights that stared down at my form.

I let out a loud snort, right in front of him. I didn't even take out the hand that he was holding out. The skeleton raised what seemed to be a brow, if he had one I'm assuming that's what it would be.

"Oh my god. . ." I wheezed, realizing I'd literally just snorted in his face and he was still awkwardly holding out his hand for me. "I cannot believe this."

My fear had completely vanished. I snickered, trying to cover my mouth to hold back full-blown laughter. The monster was just staring at this point, and I couldn't hold it back at this point. He was clearly very confused. I hunched over, bursting into laughter.

"You're a skeleton! I get it now, all the skeleton jokes that you constantly made! They were good before, but shit, they're so much. . . better now. . ." I was dying from laughter at this point, unable to stop my giggles between my words.

Of _course_ I'd recogized the monster's voice. This was the man from behind the door, a literal skeleton. He'd made so many skeleton jokes, and I even asked if he liked skeletons! Of course he did, he _was_ a skeleton.

Thankfully, he had started snickering too. He'd put his hand down by now, finally understanding why I'd suddenly burst into laughter.

"what gave me away? that fact that i'm a skeleton or my voice?"

"Definitely the voice," I snickered, finally calming down from my laughing fit.

The skeleton seemed immensely amused. He stuffed his boney hands lazily in the pockets of the blue coat he was wearing. He grinned smugly, watching embarrassment take over my features as I realized my situation.

"how about we restart?" He offered.

I smiled awkwardly.

"That'd be great. . ."

Sans chuckled, pulling one hand from his pocket, the same one as before, and holding it out to me. He stared down at me, considering he towered over me by a good foot, maybe more. I slipped my hand into his, jolting as a shock ran up my arm. I squeaked, yanking my hand away. The skeleton snorted, which was followed by a wink, which I found myself questioning.

"heya there, pal. the name's sans. sans the skeleton."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hah, y'all probably thought this chapter wasn't coming out tonight, huh? Gotcha, suckers. Just kidding. Nah, I've actually had this chapter written since last night. I might have another one up tomorrow, honestly. Got a whole day to waste tomorrow, so I'll probably end up writing half the book by the end of the day XD
> 
> Anywho, enjoy the chapter. I honestly love this one simply because of the introduction to Sans. That, and Sans in general couldn't be a better character to write. And of course reader would instantly recognize him. Remember the voice? How could you possibly forget? ;)


	7. Skeleton Shenanigans

I rubbed my arm, which was still tingling from the shock that'd just jolted up my arm.  The skeleton was grinning widely, staring down at me with an almost smug look in the lights of his sockets.  I looked at his hand, which had an obvious buzzer that I must not have noticed when he'd been literally holding out for five minutes when I'd been laughing. . . in his face.

  
I flushed from the memory, quickly trying to push it aside.  The skeleton, Sans, was still staring at me.  He clearly was expecting me to give him my name.

  
"O-Oh, yeah. . . I'm uh, _____." I introduced myself.

  
Sans gave me a strange look at the mention of my name.  He hummed in thought, nodding.  He stuffed his hands back into the pocket of the blue jacket he was wearing.  I took a few moments to examine him, more than just recognizing him as a skeleton.  He stood at a good 6'2", a good size shorter than Toriel.  He was wearing a thick blue jacket with a thick fluffy white hood, and a white turtleneck underneath, along with black basketball shorts and. . . pink slippers.  I almost cringed.  Who wears pink slippers in the snow?  Deciding not to question it, I instead focused my eyes on the thick bones of his legs.  He really was a skeleton. . .

  
"somethin' interesting?"

  
Sans' deep voice snapped me out of my focus on his legs.  I flushed almost instantly, but was quick to hide it and mentally blame it on the cold.  Awkward. . .

  
"Sorry, nope.  Nothing. . ." I coughed.

  
Sans stared at me, before shrugging his shoulders.  He looked past me, at the path ahead.  His eyes twinkled a bit and he smirked.

  
"hey, kid, how'za 'bout you follow me?  yeah, just go right through those bars.  my bro built them to stop humans but they're too big to stop anyone." He shrugged.

  
I looked at the wide bars.  Frankly, they were too big to stop a human, like me.  But they didn't seem small enough to allow someone as big as Sans through.  I looked back at the skeleton, only to see that he was gone.  Alarmed, I let my eyes dart around in search for him, before feeling two taps on my shoulder.  I whipped around, seeing Sans standing on the other side of the wide bars with a smirk.

  
"ya comin', kid?"

  
"H-How'd you..."

  
"shortcut." He stated casually, before turning and walking down the path without letting me answer.

  
I quickly fit through the bars, trailing after him.  I let my gaze wander as we made it to a clearing, not far from the bridge.  It was mostly empty, save for a weirdly shaped lamp and a large hut.  Sans stopped by the lamp, smirking and leaning against it with his arm.  I heard another set of loud footsteps from the path ahead, and quickly looked at Sans for help.  He casually gestured to the lamp.

  
"hide behind this lamp, quick." Despite his words, his voice wasn't rushed.  At all.

  
I narrowed my eyes at him.

  
"I'm not gonna fit behind that!" I hissed.

  
Sans let out a snort, eye lights darting ahead.  The person was coming closer.  Sans straightened up, grabbing my shoulders and quickly pushing me behind the hut.  He shoved me into the space beneath the counter and onto multiple ketchup bottles.  He put a finger over his teeth in a 'shush' motion, which was followed by a wink, before he walked away.  I pushed aside the condiment bottles and got comfortable, listening to the loud footsteps crunching in the snow as they got closer.

  
"SANS!" A voice shouted, making me flinch and almost squeak.  I quickly covered my mouth.

  
"hey, bro." Responded the familiar deep voice.

  
"SANS, YOU ARE SO LAZY!  YOU HAVE NOT RECALIBRATED YOUR PUZZLES!"

  
"jeez, bro, you're really workin' me to the _bone_ here."

  
I snickered quietly at the pun.  Still, I'd never admit out serious of a sucker I was for lame puns, especially when used so casually.  I heard a loud groan from the other monster.

  
"SANS, HONESTLY!  YOU'RE UNBELIVEABLE!"

  
"no, bro, i'm _sans-sational_." This time, his pun was followed by a 'ba-dum-tiss' from the skeleton.

  
"UGH!  YOU'RE SO LAZY!  WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING STANDING AROUND OUT HERE?"

  
I heard footsteps strolling toward the hut, and stiffened, expecting it to be the new monster.  Instead Sans came into view.  He shot me a wink, before he sat down on the stool in the middle and propped his legs above me, on the counter.  He folded his arms behind his neck and leaned back casually.

  
"chillin' in my post, bro.  wanna come chill with me?"

  
My jaw dropped.

  
"OF COURSE NOT, SANS!  I AM A RESPONSIBLE SOON-TO-BE ROYAL GUARDSMAN!  I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS NONSENSE!  WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?!  I WANT TO BE READY!  I WILL BE THE ONE!  I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!  THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE!  RESPECT!  RECOGNITION!  I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD!  PEOPLE WILL ASK TO BE MY. . . FRIEND!  I WILL EVEN BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING!"

  
Sans listened, amusement evident on his face.  He chuckled, eye lights darting down toward me.

  
"yeah, bro, maybe chillin' in here will help you out."

  
Another loud groan of pure annoyance.

  
"HONESTLY, SANS, YOU ARE NOT HELPING!  YOU'RE SUCH A. . . _LAZYBONES_!  ALL YOU DO IS SIT AROUND AND BOONDOGGLE!  YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"

 

Sans chuckled, shrugging his shoulders casually.

  
"bro, come on, i've got a ton of work done today.  i mean, i've got a _skele-ton_ of work done," he stated, moving his hands to mimick playing drums as he muttered 'ba-dum-tiss' once again.

  
"SANS!"

  
"oh come on, pap, you're smiling."

  
"UGH!  I AM AND I HATE IT!  SIGH. . . WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH TO GET SOME RECOGNITION. . ."

  
I half-expected Sans to comfort this Papyrus person, but he instead continued with his usual antics.

  
"sounds like you're really working yourself _down to the bone_."

  
I felt bad for the other monster.  He sounded like he really did try his best to do the... right thing.  I supposed that for monsters, maybe killing humans was the right thing to do.  I wasn't really sure.  Still, he clearly was trying to be apart of this 'Royal Guard'.

  
"UGH, SANS!  I SHALL GO ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES!  AS FOR YOU. . . PERHAPS YOU SHOULD. . . PUT A LITLE MORE _BACKBONE_ INTO IT!  NYEHEHEHEHE!"

  
I listened to the fading of his footsteps.  Once they were gone, I looked up at Sans.  He was grinning, but I was beginning to think that was just more of a skeleton thing.  He dropped his legs, standing up.  He held out a hand for me.  I hesitated, staring at his hand, half-expecting it to jump out and shock me again.  He only chuckled.

  
"nah, don't worry, i won't be so _shocking_ this time," he winked again.

  
I took his hand, and true to his word, he didn't shock me this time.  He helped me to my feet.  I wiped the snow from my pants, before tugging my coat tighter around me.

  
"Who was that?" I asked, gulping.

  
"that's my bro, papyrus.  don't worry, he won't actually do anything.  he can't even hurt a fly, trust me.  hey, speaking of, you think you could do me a flavor?  ya see, he really wants to capture a human, and it'd really help me out if you just went through all his puzzles and played along."

  
I blinked twice, confusion swiping through me.  Sans wanted me to be noticed by that guy?  Well. . . Then again, he did say the guy is harmless.  He also said that all I had to do was go through puzzles and play along.  Besides, that Papyrus guy seemed really upset that he wasn't a Royal Guardsman.  I supposed it couldn't hurt anything. . . As long as Sans meant what he said.

  
"You're sure he won't hurt me?" I asked nervously.

  
"yeah, he's pretty great.  besides, you got someone like me keepin' an eye socket out for ya," Sans chuckled, tapping his skull, just beside where his eye socket was.

  
I hesitated, staring up at the tall skeleton.  I hardly knew him.  I mean, this was the first time I'd actually met him, even if we had talked through the door before.  Still, I recalled how much faith that Toriel had in him.  She really did believe he'd protect me. . .

  
"Alright, I think I can solve some puzzles," I grinned.

  
Sans chuckled.

  
"i know ya can, kiddo.  listen, just follow that path.  i'll meet you up ahead."

  
Sans casually waved, before he turned and walked the opposite direction of where he'd told me to go.  I watched him go, confusion tugging at my features.  That guy was seriously weird. . . How's he gonna. . . Eh, whatever.  I decided not to question the logic involving a literal walking and talking skeleton.  So, instead, I did as he said and continued on the path ahead.  I tried to focus on anything but the cold air around me, but it was difficult not to.  It was freezing out here, and despite the coat that Toriel had given me, it currently wasn't helping much with the cold.

  
I shivered, watching my feet as I walked along the snow-covered path.  I let my eyes wander around the slightly eerie forest surrounding me.  It was beautiful, but eerie.  Beyond the trees was an unsettling darkness, and it was oddly quiet in the surrounding area.

  
I blinked away the thought as a loud voice came from distantly ahead.  I sped up on my trek, hugging the coat tighter around me.  Soon enough, two tall figures came into view.  My eyes widened at the sight of another large skeleton, though this one was much taller and slimmer than Sans.  He stood a good foot taller than Sans, and was wearing what almost looked like armor.  It was red, covering his entire ribcage, but not his spine.  Below that, he had blue armor covering his pelvis, with black. . . leggings. . . over his legs and tall red boots that matched his red gloves.  Around his neck was a bright red scarf that billowed out in the back like a red cape.

  
"AS I WAS SAYING, UNDYNE AND I-"

  
"hey, bro, what's that over there?"

  
Both skeletons were now staring in my direction.  I gulped, slightly intimidated by their gaze.  Papyrus gasped, his sockets seemingly widening.

  
"SANS, IS THAT A HUMAN!?"

  
Sans elbowed his brother lightly.

  
"actually, pap, i think that's a rock."

  
Looking behind me, I found that there certainly was a rock sitting in the snow behind me.  Was I seriously just mistaken for a rock?  I almost laughed, before remembering what Toriel had said not long before I left.  'Most monsters wouldn't know what a human looked like by looking at them'.  I supposed her statement was proving to be true.

  
I looked at Sans, who looked like he was on the verge of bursting into uncontrollable laughter right then and there.  I wasn't really sure who he'd be laughing at anyway, whether it would be his brother or me.

  
"OH. . ." Papyrus looked supremely disappointed.  Yep, Sans was definitely trying not to laugh at his brother.

  
"bro, what's that in front of the rock?"

  
Papyrus lit up instantly, letting out an exaggerated gasp.  His hands shot up, covering his mouth in surprise.  It was like it was taken straight out of a movie.

  
"IT'S A HUMAN!" Papyrus leaned down to whisper to his brother. "That is a human, right, Sans?" His definition of whispering was more like a normal speaking voice.

  
"yeah."

  
"WOWIE!  A REAL HUMAN!  I'VE FINALLY CAUGHT ONE!  THIS. IS. AMAZING!  I WILL FINALLY BE APART OF THE ROYAL GUARD!  I WILL BE SO FAMOUS!"

  
I stood there awkwardly, unsure how to respond.  Still, I couldn't help the wide smile that was spread across my face.  He looked so happy.  Papyrus laughed to himself, swinging around so quickly that Sans had to dodge his elbows.  He stared at me, eyes narrowing.  Frankly, it wasn't menacing at all.  If anything, it was the complete opposite of menacing.

  
"HUMAN!"

  
Papyrus raised his arm, pointing a gloved hand at me.

  
"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL CAPTURE YOU IN THE PROPER WAY OF MONSTERS!  YOU MUST GO THROUGH MANY PUZZLES AND CHALLENGES BEFORE I SHALL FACE YOU IN A PROPER BATTLE!  NYEHEHEHE!  GOOD LUCK, HUMAN, YOU WILL CERTAINLY NEED IT!  NYEHEHEHEHEHE!"

  
The skeleton dashed off through the snow, leaving his snickering brother behind.  I walked toward Sans.  He chuckled, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets.

  
"isn't my brother cool?" He grinned.

  
I smiled.

  
"He seems like the coolest."

  
"he totally is.  and don't worry about those puzzles and the battle he talked about.  like i said, keepin' an eye socket out for you."

  
My grin stretched wider and I let out a laugh.

  
"I'm holding you to that." I stated.

  
"countin' on ya to remind me." He joked back. "anyway, just keep going ahead.  you'll reach his amazing puzzles in no time."

  
Sans shot me another wink, before he walked in the direction I'd come from.  I stared at his back, before turning ahead and once again walking ahead.  I wandered past another shack, but this one really was more like a shack.  It was more like a cardboard box with a large window cut out and a note attached stating that this was "THE GREAT PAPYRUS' AMAZING SENTRY STATION".  I giggled, giving the box a light pat, before continuing forward.

  
The path led me to another hut.  I tilted my head, examining it.  There was a small bell on the side of the counter, and a dog carving above the lookout.  Outside of it, there were burnt dog treats.  I took a step forward, only to instantly freeze as someone peeked over the counter, before standing to their full height.

  
"Who's there?" They hissed, eyes narrowing and darting around frantically. "I swear if it's a human I'll put you down!"

  
A white and black dog was now sniffing around for me.  I didn't move, gulping.  He clearly couldn't see me if I wasn't moving, and the fact that he was holding two sharp swords gave me more incentive to stand completely still.  Where was Sans?

  
I hesitantly reached up, giving the dog a light pat on the head.  He instantly stiffened.

  
"Pets?" He blinked.

  
I gave a small snort, before continuing to pet the dog.  His tail had begun to wag happily.

  
"Pets!  Pets!  You're good at pets. . . whoever you are. . . Hm. . . Move so I can see you!" That wasn't a suggestion, it was an order.

  
I bounced lightly on my toes.  He focused his eyes on me.  They examined me closely, and I really hoped he wouldn't recognize me as a human.  He grabbed my arm with one hand, sniffling it, while my other hand still petted his head, just below his ear.

  
"What are you?" His eyes narrowed.

  
I gulped.

  
"I'm um. . ." I didn't know how to answer.  I decided that lying was a bad idea, because this guy seemed like the type who could detect a lie, even if he couldn't detect someone who wasn't moving.

  
"You're. . . Human!" He gripped his swords tighter.  "Yes, you must be. . .  I apologize for this, human."

  
I felt a faintly familiar tug in my chest.  My eyes widened as my soul floated between us, but in a much different scenario than the one I had been put in by Flowey.  This was a battle, not some Flower being a pervert.  Toriel had told me souls were used in battle.  As quickly as it was taken out, it was returned.  I put a hand over my chest, looking up at the dog-monster.  He looked guilty.

  
"My apologies, human. . ." He muttered, sauntering behind his station. "My apologies.  My apologies.  I did not realize you were already so close to death. . ."  
I stared at him.

  
"S-So. . . Close to death?" I asked slowly, fear tugging at my words and making them difficult to say.

  
The dog lowered himself down without another word of explanation.  I quickly rang the bell on the counter, only to be ignored.  There was the click of a lighter, followed by the slither of smoke.  He was smoking something, though I had a suspicion that I knew that it was based on the strange burnt dog treats outside his hut.  I rang the bell again, though I was ignored.  Again.

  
I swallowed hard, hesitating, before continuing my trek forward.

  
Was I really that close to death that monsters didn't even want to fight me. . . ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to apologize for the late chapter! I honestly have no excuse for it not being out yesterday other than my own laziness to write the chapter. Anyway, please enjoy some silly skeles and hopefully forgive me for the lateness lol. Let me know how you guys feel about the chapter! I love hearing from everyone!


	8. All the Puzzles

Coming into a clearing that was mostly ice was not a comfortable thought. There was an obvious way around it, but the temptation to read the sign in the middle of the ice was slowly becoming overwhelming. I stepped cautiously onto the ice, sliding forward and managing somehow not to fall onto my ass. I shuffled my feet on the ice slowly, dragging myself across the ice at a very slow, awkward pace.

God, I sure hoped no one was watching this.

I shuffled to the sign, carefully stepping onto the actual ground where the sign rested. I kneeled down, wiping snow off the face of the sign.

_*** North: Ice** _

_*** South: Ice** _

_*** West: Ice** _

_*** East: Snowdin Town** _

I turned, regretting my decision to come read this completely useless sign. Sure enough, there was definitely ice in every direction. So, turning to the direction of what I assumed was east (which was really just the direction I was going to head anyway), I started my embarrassing shuffle across the ice. By the very last step, my footing slipped and I fell backward on the ice, sliding back a good foot or two from the snowy ground on my butt. I heard a loud snort, whipping my head around to wear I found a familiar skeleton standing by the sign, leaning up against it with his elbow.

" _ice_ to see you around here, kid." Sans stated, amused.

I pouted.

"How the hell did you get there without slipping?"

"who said i didn't slip?"

"I would've heard you."

Sans shrugged, his grin widening.

"true, you totally would've. bones are definitely not quiet when they hit ice."

To prove his point, he kneeled down, tapping his fingers on the ice. Sure enough, they made clacking sounds on the hard surface. Momentarily, I let my mind wander to what he would sound like walking barefoot on a hardwood floor. Embarrassingly, I imagined it sounding like a dog's claws clicking on the floor. My cheeks reddened, and I shook off the thought. I attempted to shuffle back to my feet, only to land on the ice again but this time on my knees. I could feel the skeleton's eyes burning holes into me as he watched. This was so embarrassing. . . How long had this guy even been watching me? Oh god, what if he'd seen my shuffle all the way from the beginning? He must've. . . I turned my head toward him, eyes narrowing. His grin stretched wider, as if he knew the question I was about to ask.

"How long have you been watching me?"

Sans snickered. He looked down at the ice, pushing a foot out and running his sneaker over the surface as if to test the slipperiness of it. _As if all my shuffling and falling didn't give him the answer already._

"let's just say _ice_ been standin' here a while."

As if the heat in my cheeks wasn't bad enough, they definitely were now. I averted my gaze, looking back at the ground that was almost three feet from me now.

"Good, that makes this slightly less embarrassing," I grumbled, before I put my hands flat on the ice, sitting on my knees as I attempted to push myself across the ice. I made small squid motions with my knees as I attempted to move forward. The sound of Sans' laughter in front of me instead of behind me made me snap my gaze upward. He was now standing on the ground in front of me, grinning widely. He leaned over, holding out his hand, which was the one that now had the obvious shock buzzer right on his palm.

"need a hand?"

Two things went through my head in this moment. First, how confident was I feeling toward this person I hardly knew to take his hand and yank him onto the ice with me, and second, whether or not I was actually ready to get off this ice without somehow getting payback on this guy. . . I reached up, taking ahold of the boney hand. I pushed through the jolt that shot up my arm and yanked mine backwards while still holding his hand. His eye sockets shot open wide in surprise, and he lost his footing by stepping forward to try to catch himself, before he fell very ungracefully onto the ice with a loud 'CLACK'. I half-expected his bones to fall apart at the impact, all cartoon style, but they didn't. He blinked a few times, clearly stunned as he now laid front-first on the ice. I stared at him with an almost guilty expression. That sounded a bit painful. . .

Finally, he let out a snort, which was followed by loud laughter. He rolled over, onto his back and stared up at the sky, laughing loudly. My laughter soon followed.

"w-wow, kid, that was a real _ice-breaker_ ," he snickered, gesturing to a crack on the ice from his landing.

"Oh my god, how hard did you hit the ice?" I was laughing even harder now.

Sans snickered, grinning. He sat up, wiping snow off his hoodie. It did no good, considering that it was actively snowing, so more snowflakes just formed over the fabric.

"c'mon, kid, i'm made of bone. even a light impact would've caused a dent in this ice. lucky for you, no one's ever seen it actually fall apart, so we should be fine."

"Should be?"

"if we're lucky."

We both sniggered to ourselves, before the two of us began shuffling across the small space of ice and onto the safety of the actual ground. I stood up, wiping all the snow off my pants. Great, now I was gonna be cold _and_ wet, thanks to the ice. Sans, on the other hand, wasn't bothered in the slightest. I wondered momentarily if skeletons were even affected by the cold. Then again, I also had to remind myself that he wasn't a living human skeleton, he was a monster that was shaped like a skeleton. . . I decided to just shrug off the thought.

"i should probably get back to my bro," Sans chuckled, "he's definitely wonderin' where i am, and if he wanders and finds me _breaking the ice_ with a human, he'll be real _icy_."

I snorted, rolling my eyes at his puns. Sans waved, before walking off, this time in the direction ahead of me. I took a few moments to check the bruises on my knees from where I'd landed, and found that they weren't too bad. I pushed my pants back down, stuffing them into my boots, before I was walking in the direction Sans had gone. It wasn't long before I'd reached the two skeletons.

"YOU'RE UNBELIEVABLY LAZY, SANS! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!"

"i think that's called. . . sleeping."

"EXCUSES! EXCUSES!"

Papyrus perked up the instant he turned and saw me, putting one hand on his hip and holding up a large blue orb. Well, large for me, not too big for him.

"HUMAN! I HAVE CAREFULLY CRAFTED THIS ONE OF A KIND PUZZLE IN PREPARATION FOR YOUR ARRIVAL!" He grinned widely. "THE MOMENT YOU STEP INTO THIS PUZZLE AND TOUCH A WALL, A SHOCK WILL BE EMITTED FROM THIS ORB! THERE IS ONLY ONE PATH TO TAKE THAT WILL LEAD TO YOU BEING MUCH LESS. . . ELECTROCUTED. GO AHEAD AND TRY TO FIND THE PATH!"

Before I'd even taken a full step forward, Papyrus jolted and let out a loud yelp as he was electrocuted. It clearly caused no damage to him, just surprise. I imagined it was a lot like the feeling of when Sans shocks you with his hand buzzer.

"SANS, WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

"i think she's supposed to hold the orb, bro."

"OH, YES, OF COURSE!"

I watched Papyrus walk through the puzzle, leaving his footprints in the snow of the solution. I wasn't really sure whether to feel bad or laugh. Papyrus stopped directly in front of me, towering over my much shorter height.

"HUMAN, WOULD YOU PLEASE HOLD THIS ORB?"

"Uh. . . Yes?"

I held out both my hands, and the taller skeleton put the orb into my hands. Papyrus shot me a thumbs up, before turning and walking back through the puzzle, only making the solution to the puzzle more obvious. I looked at Sans, who looked like he was on the brink of bursting into laughter. I stepped into the puzzle, slowly following Papyrus' tracks, trying not to make it obvious that he'd given me the solution. I occasionally touched the side, letting myself be shocked, before I finally reached the end. Papyrus grinned widely, grabbing the orb from my hands.

"FANTASTIC JOB, HUMAN! YOU MUST REALLY LIKE PUZZLES IF YOU SOLVED THAT SO EASILY!"

I smiled widely.

"HOWEVER, HUMAN! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE SO EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS! NYEHEHEHE!"

I watched Papyrus dash off through the snow, snickering to myself. I turned to Sans, who was hunched over in laughter, his hands on his knees. Once he calmed down, he straightened up, wiping a fake tear.

"classic." He snickered.

I smiled, crossing my arms.

"by the way, did you see that weird outfit he's wearing?" Sans grinned widely. "yeah, we made it a few weeks ago for a costume party. he hasn't worn anything else since. he calls it his 'battle body'. man, isn't my brother cool?"

I laughed, grinning even wider than I was before.

"The coolest."

I laughed, before giving him a wave, and continuing on my way to whatever the next puzzle was. If it was from Sans, I suspected it would involve two things. Puns or pranks. It seemed only fitting, considering the kind of guy he seemed to be. Then again, it could be the damn hardest puzzle in the world. He also seemed like the type who'd be intelligent and good at making puzzles. Who knows?

I came to what looked like an ice cream stand not far past the last puzzle. There was a blue bunny monster (which I had to resist the urge to make a Blue Bunny pun because no one down here would probably get it). He was tall, like all the other monsters I'd met so far. He wore a yellow shirt and red pants, along with a single red suspender over his right shoulder. His ears were drooping and he looked upset about something.

"I don't understand why my nice creams aren't selling. . ." He mumbled, more to himself than me. "It's the perfect weather for something cold. . ."

I blinked, before reaching into my pocket. I pulled out my small sachel of gold, which Toriel had given to me. She said it's monsters' form of currency. I walked up to the cart with a smile. He perked up, ears instantly straightening.

"Oh! A customer!" He grinned.

"How much are one of your uh. . . nice creams?"

"Just 15G!"

I counted out the amount with a smile. I dropped it into his hand. He grinned widely, beaming with obvious happiness.

"What flavor would'cha like?" He asked happily, turning and opening the lid to his cart.

"Surprise me."

The bunny monster pulled out a flavor, grinning. He gave it to me.

"You look like the type who'd enjoy this kind!" He chirped.

I grinned widely. I opened the wrapper, seeing words on the inside. 'You look grrreeeaattt today!' My grin stretched wider and I let out a laugh. The vendor seemed to beam with happiness. I licked the nice cream, savoring the taste of it. After living with Toriel, I had grown accustomed to the strangeness of monster food, and how it fizzled on your tongue before disappearing. Toriel explained that it was because monsters couldn't digest food the same way that humans did. So, when the Nice Cream fizzled on my tongue, I wasn't much surprised by it. The taste of cinnamon was left behind.

"It's so good!" I grinned. "I'm sure business will pick up soon!"

The vendor, as if he wasn't happy enough already, lit up at that statement. His confidence seemed to have boosted, and he straightened up.

"Yes! Yes, I agree! Thank you!"

I shot him a thumbs up, eating my Nice Cream as I walked away, wishing him luck in his business. I grinned, continuing to follow the path. I kicked at the snowball as Sans came into view, grinning at me. He glanced at my Nice Cream, before chuckling.

"ya know, i've been thinking about selling treats, too."

"Oh yeah?"

"yeah. want some fried snow? it's only 5g," he winked.

I snorted, raising a brow. I had a feeling he was playing some game with me. Of course, I couldn't help but play along.

"Alright."

"oh, did i say 5g? i meant 50g."

"Okay."

"hm. . . 500g?"

"'Kay."

"5000g. final offer."

"Sans. . ."

"don't have enough? that's alright, i don't have any fried snow." Sans winked.

"I think that's bad for business." I joked.

Sans only laughed in response. I waved him off, snickering as I turned to continue walking. I finished my nice scream, and stuffed the wrapper in my sachel with the shard of my soul. What? I had no where else to put it. I walked through the snow, the path barely visible beneath all the white. I kicked at the snow lightly, looking up as the skeletons came into view once again. I didn't understand how Sans always got ahead of me. I never saw him actually walk by. Then again, he did have that weird habit of just appearing places. The two skeletons were facing each other, Papyrus yelling at Sans for his 'laziness'. They turned to face me. I didn't see a puzzle, other than a paper laying in the middle of the clearing between us.

"HUMAN! I HOPE YOU ARE READY FOR. . ." Papyrus trailed off. "SANS! WHERE IS THE PUZZLE!?"

"it's right there. on the ground."

Sans gestured to the paper, his grin stretched widely, making him look like the smugest skeleton on Earth.

"trust me, bro, there's no way they can get past this one."

I raised a brow. I walked to the puzzle, kneeling down and picking up the paper. At the sight of Sans' so-called "puzzle", I probably looked like an anime character with a sweat drop. It was a "Monster Kidz Word Search". I scanned over the puzzle search, before looking up at Sans. He smirked, shooting me a wink.

"SANS! THAT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"whoops."

"UGH!"

"i knew i should have used today's crossword instead."

"WHAT!? CROSSWORD?! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT! IN MY OPINION, JUNIOR-JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST!"

Sans shot him an incredilous look, as if someone had just kicked a puppy in front of him and insulted his entire family.

"what, really, dude? that easy-peasy word scramble? that's totally for baby bones."

"UN-BELIEVABLE. HUMAN! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!"

Both skeletons were now facing me. I fidgeted, opening and closing my mouth a few times as I tried to come up with a solution.

"Uh. . . I haven't played Junior-Jumble, so it might be the hardest?"

"MIGHT BE?"

"might be?"

They repeated the question simultaniously. I snorted, covering my mouth as I snickered. Sans shot me a smug look.

"Okay, fine, Junior Jumble is harder."

"HA! HA! YES! HUMANS MUST BE VERY INTELLIGENT IF THEY ALSO FIND JUNIOR-JUMBLE SO DIFFICULT! NYEH! HEH HEH HEH!"

Papyrus ran off in a flurry of snow. Sans snickered, wiping off the snow from his face with his jacket sleeve. His eye lights darted over toward me, his grin stretching wider.

"thanks for sayin' 'junior-jumble' just to appease my brother. yesterday he got stumped trying to 'solve' the horoscope."

I snorted, covering my mouth with my hand and laughing.

"Really?"

"yeah. idn't he cool?" Sans winked.

I laughed in response, vigorously nodding, and it wasn't a lie. These skeletons were definitely two of the most hilarious people I'd ever met. Papyrus really was cool, and frankly, so was Sans. Sans chuckled, holding out his arms toward the path and giving a slight bow, as if ushering me onward. I snorted, rolling my eyes, before continuing on my way. I came to a little clearing. There was a table in the center, with a plate of spaghetti and a fork. Beside it, was an unplugged microwave. All the buttons were labled "spaghetti". I smiled widely, poking at the very frozen spaghetti with the fork. It didn't budge.

Welp, suppose I wouldn't be eating this spaghetti. It did look good, though. I noticed a note on the ground, and kneeled down to pick it up. My grin widened as I read it.

' _HUMAN! PLEASE ENJOY THIS SPAGHETTI! (LITTLE DO YOU KNOW, THIS SPAGHETTI IS A TRAP DESIGNED TO ENTICE YOU! YOU'LL BE SO BUSY EATING IT. . . THAT YOU WON'T EVEN REALIZE THAT YOU AREN'T PROGRESSING!! THOROUGHLY JAPED AGAIN BY THE GREAT PAPYUS!!!!)_

NYEH-HEH-HEH!!!

WITH LOVE, PAPYRUS

I snickered, slapping a hand on my face, holding back laughter. This was the cutest thing I've ever seen. Sadly, I would have to progress, so that means I passed another one of the skeleton's puzzles. Grinning, I continued onward, treking through the snow and attempting to ignore the coldness surrounding me. My pants were still wet from the ice, but it was hardly noticeable at this point. Probably because I was so numb. . . But I preferred to blame it on the fact that I was having so much fun that I didn't have time to notice it. Yeah, that seemed about right.

As I crossed a bridge, I noticed two figures walking toward me. The moment I noticed the two giant axes they carried, I was quick to start searching for a way to pass them. They seemed like two people I didn't want to mess with. Just as I turned to quickly walk the other direction, I heard the taller of the two dogs taking a deep breath. His ears perked up and the mood in the air quickly changed. I felt a sharp tug on my soul, drawing out a quick breath from my lungs from surprise.

"I smell something. . ." He growled lowly.

"Human?" Asked the other dog.

"I'm not sure. . . Maybe a. . . puppy. . ." He grumbled to the female dog monster.

I reached out to the broken soul, wanting to put it back where it belonged.

"I-I don't want to fight," I said, mentally cursing my stutter.

Their eyes snapped toward me. They let out low growls, and I could feel a fear shake my entire form. They were. . . terrifying. I swallowed down my fear, carefully wrapping my fingers around my soul, shuddering at the feeling it brought on my body.

"Please, I don't want to fight. I don't want to die, and I don't want to hurt anyone."

They stared, eyes narrowed. They looked down at the soul in my hands, before looking back at me. Finally, with the loud bang of the butt of their axes hitting the ground, they nodded. My soul returned to my chest, and I sighed in relief.

"I am sorry, little one," spoke the female dog, who was now much less intimidating than she was just thirty seconds ago, "we did not mean to frighten you."

The dog monster stepped toward me, still dragging her axe with her. To say it wasn't nerve-wracking to watch a literal dog carrying an axe would be an understatement, but, then again, this wasn't just a dog. This was a monster, who acted like any normal person. Besides, she clearly didn't wield the thing carelessly. She clearly was a trained warrior. They both must've been, and I momentarily wondered if these were two members of that "Royal Guard" that Papyrus had been so adamant to join.

"I am Dogaressa, this is my husband, Dogamy," the woman held out her paw.

I swallowed, unsure what to say. The mood seemed to have completely changed. If they were a part of the Royal Guard, then they certainly must have soft hearts. Monsters seemed to have a thing against humans, and while I knew the basic thing about why they didn't particularly like them (thanks Toriel), I also couldn't imagine why that would be the only reason they would want to kill us.

"I'm. . . ______." I said, shaking her hand slowly.

Dogaressa gave a warm smile, which almost reminded me of Toriel's motherly one. Dogamy didn't speak. He only have a gruff noise of approval, before he and his wife wandered past me and in the direction I'd come from. I put a hand over my chest, letting out a long breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

I ran a hand through my hair, before I continued onward. I had taken a few moments to calm my pounding heartbeat. The next puzzle ahead was an easy one, and I solved it quickly. I noticed Papyrus standing on the opposite side of the spikes that had gone down from the solution to the puzzle. He watched me solve the puzzle, clearly in awe by how easily I solved it. Soon enough, I was standing in front of him. Sans wasn't anywhere to be seen, but I had a feeling he wasn't very far away.

"HUMAN! HOW DID YOU MAKE IT PAST MY LAST PUZZLE! SECOND, IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME?!"

I bit my lip, rubbing my arm softly.

"Actually, Papyrus, I couldn't eat it. It was frozen and your microwave was unplugged. But it really did look amazing! I'm really sorry. . ."

Papyrus didn't look dejected in the slightest. In fact, he grinned widely. (Which, as I said before, was definitely a skeleton thing)

"THAT IS QUITE ALRIGHT, HUMAN! I SHALL HAVE TO MAKE YOU SPAGHETTI THAT WILL BE WARM ENOUGH FOR YOU TO EAT!"

I laughed, nodding in response. I expected him to dash off like he usually did after the puzzles, but instead, he began walking beside me along the path. He stared ahead as he talked, just as enthusiastic as he always was. I wondered if he had any other levels of volume for his voice.

"MY BROTHER STARTED A SOCK COLLECTION RECENTLY," he began, "HOW SADDENING. . ."

By "sock collection", I assumed it was more like the lack of motivation to actually pick up the socks.

"SOMETIMES, I WONDER WHAT HE WOULD DO WITHOUT SUCH A COOL GUY TAKING CARE OF HIM! NYEH-HEH-HEH!"

I giggled, smiling. We continued walking along the path. I occasionally kicked at the snow.

"Good thing he's got a cool brother like you."

"YES, I MUST AGREE," Papyrus chuckled proudly, "DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS, HUMAN?"

I was honestly confused where all this conversation was coming from. Papyrus had been trying to "catch" me this whole time, just so he could join the Royal Guard. We hadn't really had time for any type of conversation since I'd met him probably an hour or two ago. Still, I definitely didn't have a problem with it.

"I don't," I smiled, "I wasn't lucky enough to have a cool bro to take care of me."

We fell into a momentary silence. Ahead of us, came another puzzle that was much bigger than the previous one, but still the same concept. I raised a brow, looking at Papyrus for an explanation. He looked sheepish about something.

"HUMAN! HOW DO I UM. . . EXPLAIN THIS. . . YOU WERE TAKING A VERY LONG TIME TO ARRIVE, SO I DECIDED TO IMPROVE THIS PUZZLE BY ARRANGING THE SNOW TO LOOK MORE LIKE MY FACE!"

I took a moment to spare a glance at the puzzle. Looking at it hard enogh, I could see the shape of his face in the puzzle. Not bad, actually. It was impressive.

"UNFORTUNATELY, THE SNOW FROZE TO THE GROUND AND CAUSED THE SOLUTION TO BE DIFFERENT! AND, ON TOP OF THAT, MY LAZY BROTHER IS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN!"

Papyrus hesitated. He looked down at his feet, kicking at the snow, embarrassed. I had a feeling I knew exactly where this was going, but I decided to let him say it before assuming things.

"WELL. . . WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS. . . WORRY NOT! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SOLVE THIS CONUNDRUM. THAT WAY, WE CAN BOTH PROCEED! MEANWHILE, YOU MAY TRY TO SOLVE THIS PUZZLE YOURSELF! I WILL TRY NOT TO GIVE AWAY THE ANSWER!"

By "try not to give it away", I knew that secretely meant that he had no idea what the actual solution was. I decided against questioning him or teasing him. So, instead, I decided to test out the puzzle myself. I pretended not to notice the second skeleton who was sitting behind a tree, playing on what looked like a phone. How Papyrus hadn't noticed Sans was beyond me, but then again, he didn't exactly seem like the type of person who was observant of his surroundings. I was also about half-certain that if Sans had actually hidden in a less-obvious place, then that would have been the first place Papyrus looked. Then again, it could just be that Sans was lazy.

Shrugging it off, I carefully tested different methods to solving the puzzle. Papyrus stood aside, watching me. I assumed he was, anyway. . . He didn't have eye lights like Sans, considering that his sockets were considerably smaller than his brother's. Ironically, the thought of Papyrus having eye lights was strange. . . And Sans without them would be even stranger.

With a soft click of the solution, I turned and grinned at Papyrus, hands on my hips.

"Got it!"

Papyrus' grin must've been matching mine. He clapped his gloved hands.

"FANTASTIC JOB, HUMAN! YOU TRULY ARE A MASTER OF PUZZLES!"

Papyrus gave me a hard slap on the back, as an encouraging gesture, before dashing back off through the snow, ahead of me. I snickered, rubbing the slightly sore spot, before walking after him. Sans was now standing to the side of the trail, grinning at me.

"wow, i'm impressed you solved that puzzle without my help," he smirked.

"Like you knew the solution," I teased.

"ya never know, kid, i could've had it right up my sleeve the whole time."

"You sure call me 'kid' a lot, you know."

Sans grinned widely, as if he'd been expecting me to bring that up at some point.

"'s kinda my thing," he stated, "kiddo."

I snickered, rolling my eyes. We both looked in the direction Papyrus had run off in. Sans chuckled after a few moments, before continuing ahead to trudge through the snow. He waved over his shoulder casually.

"see ya around, kid. thanks for doin' all this."

I smiled, watching him go and thinking about his words. He'd said it like I wasn't totally enjoying myself. In fact, I couldn't recall a time when I'd last had so much fun. Yeah, I'd had fun in the Ruins with Toriel and the other monsters, but it wasn't anything compared to solving puzzles with two goofy skeletons. To say I wanted it to end would be a lie. I didn't want it to end.

It was the most fun I'd ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoy this chapter. It's honestly one of my favorites, hah. Everyone loves a puzzle-nerd Papyrus and falling skeletons. Honestly, the image of a skeleton falling on ice is hilarious to me. I have no idea why. Either way, please enjoy this chappy.


	9. Cheshire Cat

The sound of whirring machinery ahead caught my attention. I sped up a bit, seeing a series of tiles laid out ahead of me. Papyrus and Sans stood on the opposite side of the dull grey tiles, both grinning widely. Beside Papyrus was what looked like a box, with multiple buttons on the sides of it. Papyrus perked up the instant he saw me.

"HEY! IT'S THE HUMAN! YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE THIS PUZZLE! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS!"

I wondered if this "Dr. Alphys" was the one who would be helping me out with my soul. I subconsiously squeezed the sash at my hip at the thought. I had almost forgotten the whole reason I had left the Ruins in the first place.

"YOU SEE THESE TILES? ONCE I THROW THIS SWITCH, THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR! EACH COLOR HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION. THE RED TILES ARE IMPASSABLE. YOU CANNOT WALK ON THEM! YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC! THEY WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU! GREEN TILES ARE ALARM TILES. IF YOU STEP ON THEM, YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER! ORANGE TILES ARE ORANGE SCENTED. THEY WILL MAKE YOU SMELL DELICIOUS! BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES. SWIM THROUGH IF YOU LIKE, BUT, IF YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES THE PARAHNAS WILL BITE YOU! ALSO, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A YELLOW TILE, THE WATER WILL ZAP YOU! PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY! YOU WILL SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE! HOWEVER, THE SLIPPERY SOAP SMELLS LIKE LEMONS, WHICH PARAHNAS DO NOT LIKE! PURPLE AND BLUE ARE OKAY! FINALLY, PINK TILES, THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING! STEP ON THEM ALL YOU LIKE."

I attempted to remember every rule to the tiles, but I'd already forgotten the entire first-half of the instructions. I glanced at Sans, who was lazily playing some game on his phone, clearly not paying any attention. I looked back at the grinning Papyrus.

"HOW WAS THAT? UNDERSTAND?"

I swallowed.

"Um, Papyrus, I'm not sure-"

"GREAT! THEN THERE'S ONE LAST THING! THIS PUZZLE. . . . . IS ENTIRELY RANDOM! WHEN I PULL THIS SWITCH, IT WILL MAKE A PUZZLE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE! NOT EVEN I WILL KNOW THE SOLUTION! NYEH HEH HEH! GET READY. . . !"

I fidgeted anxiously, watching him grab ahold of the switch and yank it down with as much force as he could muster. I had to hold up my arms to stop myself from being blinded as the tiles frantically blipped into different colors, a heavy buzzing sound only getting louder with each different set of tiles. Once it came to an abrupt halt, a loud snort quickly followed. I slowly lowered my arms, seeing a straight path of pink tiles directly ahead of me, with red tiles on the sides.

Sans was now hunched over, a hand over his mouth as he laughed loudly. Papyrus was completely silent, staring at the puzzle in shock.

"SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

Sans couldn't even muster an answer, too busy laughing. Papyrus simply laid on the ground, and rolled away from us, faux tears spilling down his cheeks as he howled about "HOW EVEN THE SIMPLEST OF PUZZLES COULD BE CREATED BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS!"

I took a cautious step onto the tiles, finding that it felt like normal ground. I walked across it, to the laughing skeleton on the other side. He straightened up finally, leaning up against the machine casually, wiping fake tears from his sockets. Or. . . maybe those were real tears. I watched him flick away a blue liquid, which I realized really was the skeleton's form of tears. He sniggered.

"that was the best."

"Did you do that?"

Sans smirked, reaching behind the machine and holding up a couple of cut wires. Specifically, all the colors that hadn't appeared on the puzzle. The only two wires intact were the red and pink.

"nah, i dunno watcha mean." He winked.

I rolled my eyes, laughing.

"He would be so mad if he knew."

"nah, he'd be more mad if the puzzle ended up electrocuting you or hurting you. i did you both a favor, pal."

I snickered at his statement, rolling my eyes once more. Sans grinned, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his hoodie.

"you know, pal, that spaghetti from earlier, it wasn't too bad for my brother. since he started cooking lessons, he's been improving a lot. i bet if he keeps it up, next year he'll even make something edible."

"You're joking. . ."

"yep."

I groaned, giving the skeleton a playful shove as he laughed. I walked past him, shaking my head but still laughing quietly to myself.

The next area had another little hut. There was multiple attempts at. . . snow dogs. . . laying about on the ground. I found a few of them unsettling, only giving them a quick glance and continuing on the path. I read the sign beside the hut. 'AWARE OF DOG' 'pleas pet dog'. Snorting, I continued past the snow dogs. A cow-like woman stood beside one, giving it a disapproving look. Before I could even greet her, she spoke up.

"That dog just rushed in here, filled with inspiration. It kept trying to build a snowdog that expressed its own emotions. . . but, as it built, it kept getting more and more excited about the sculpture. . . it's neck got longer and longer, it added more and more snow, until. . . it was rather sad to watch, but I couldn't turn away."

I stared at the woman, who's distant gaze was still focused on the failed snowdog beside her. I awkwardly shuffled past her, unsure how to respond. I wasn't sure what was more disturbing. The snow dogs with creepily long necks, or the woman who just couldn't stop watching.

In the next room was another puzzle, with more. . . ice. I let out a loud groan, covering my face. Ice was not my friend. I hoped I could avoid the puzzle and find another way around, so I took the path directly to my right. I walked down a bit of a hill, before reaching a small clearing. There were two snow sculptures at the bottom. Well. . . one. There was a very tall snowman, which was an almost perfect replica of Papyrus, other than the very muscular arms. It even had a cute little red scarf. Across from it was a blob of snow, with the name "sans" written in red marker. How do you even write in marker on snow?

I giggled, grinning at the sculptures. I kneeled down to the space between the two sculptures. I gathered up some snow, forming my own little version of a regular snow man, only on a much smaller scale.

"addin' to the snow family, kiddo?"

This time, I didn't jump at the sound of Sans' voice. I looked up, seeing him now laying on his back over his snow pile, watching me in amusement, his head upside down. His grin stretched wider.

"Guess so," I snickered.

"'s cute. looks just like ya."

I snorted, rolling my eyes.

"Right, sure."

Sans rolled over onto his stomach, smirking widely. He reminded me of the cheshire cat, just appearing and disappearing, and he was always grinning.

"nah, seriously, look."

Sans stood up, comparing the hights of my snowman to the Papyrus sculpture and his own snow pile. He snickered.

"it's short, just like you."

I gave him a shove, rolling my eyes and groaning. He laughed in response.

"I'm not that short! All of you monsters are just super tall!"

"nuh uh, humans are just super small." He shot back smugly.

I huffed, crossing my arms with a playful pout. Sans snickered, kneeling in front of my snowman and adding his own parts to it, like making the attempt to do hair. I watched him in amusement, before something occurred to me.

"Hey, you should help me with that puzzle up the hill!"

Sans turned his gaze lazily toward me.

"why would i do that?" He smirked.

"Because ice is my worst enemy."

"and here i thought electricity was every human's worst enemy."

"Well. . . that too, but that's irrelevant right now. Could you just help me get across?"

Sans stood up, wiping the snow off his pants. He put a hand to his chin, seemingly thinking about it. Based on the grin on his face and the gleam in his eye, I had a feeling that he was going to help me and didn't even have to think about it.

"eh, sure. but ya gotta promise me somethin', yeah?"

"Yes, of course!" I grinned.

Sans' grin faltered a bit. He suddenly looked deadly serious as the lights in his eyes dimmed just a tad.

"you gotta hold on tight."

Now I was confused. Hold on tight? Why didn't he just show me a shortcut around it or something?

"Uh, okay?"

Sans gave me a nod, before he stepped closer to me. He held out his hand. I raised a brow, giving him a look of confusion. He nodded down to his outstretched hand. I cautiously took his hand, sqeezing it to assure him that I wouldn't be letting him go. Sans breathed out a puff of air, putting his other hand over mine and sqeezing it.

"don't let go."

That was the last word before everything went dark. My feet fell from beneath my feet, and I felt my stomach lurch. When I opened my eyes, which I couldn't even recall shutting, I was hunched over the snow, holding my stomach which threatened to leap up throat. Sans stood behind me, hands lazily stuffed in his pockets. I coughed. Sans' grinned was forced, a sheepish look on his face. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"sorry, kid. forgot how sensitive humans can be to magic."

It took a few more minutes of coughing and panting before my stomach settled and I could straighten up. We were standing in a clearing now. There was a nearby monster, who almost looked like a deer, staring at us oddly. His stare only lasted a few seconds, before he shrugged it off and turned away.

"hey, you okay, kiddo? you're looking a bit pale."

Sans put a hand on my lower back, leaning over and giving me a worried look. I nodded slowly, glancing at his hand that was on my back with a small blush.

"Y-Yeah. . . what was that?"

Sans moved his hand, stuffing it into his pocket with a look that I couldn't exactly read. He straighened.

"a shortcut. . . ?" He answered hesitantly.

"No shit. What did you do?"

"it's uh. . . it's just somethin' i do."

I recalled what'd happened. It felt like I blacked out and just woke up somewhere new. But that didn't seem right. . . I could still feel myself clinging onto Sans. I could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. I could hear the heavy breathing of both Sans and myself. I was awake the whole time, but why was it so. . . dark?

"Where were we just now?" I asked hesitantly.

Sans kicked the snow at his feet.

"i uh. . . i call it the Void."

I shuddered at the mention of the place. I recalled Gaster telling me about the Void. I was in that place in my dreams when I saw him, but it was so much different physically. It was so dead and empty. Gaster nor whatever other creatures that lived there could be seen. Only raw darkness and a never-ending chill that had now seemed to sink into my bones.

I decided against mentioning that I'd been there, and the fact that I'd actually spoken to some strange monster in there. I wondered momentarily if Gaster and Sans knew each other. . .

"so, uh, you're away from that puzzle now. i saved your ass, kid, literally," he winked, gesturing his arm to the right of us, "follow that path straight up and keep goin'. no more ice ahead, promise."

I swallowed down the lump in my throat, nodding. I smiled at him.

"Thanks, Sans."

"anytime, kiddo."

I followed the path he told me, walking up the hill to find myself in a long stretch of a clearing. There were large snow poffs laid about in the clearing randomly. I walked past each one, giving them strange looks. Why were they so perfectly round? Finally, I found one blocking my path. I made a move to step past it, before hearing a faint 'bark' from inside the snow poff. I stopped and stiffened immediately.

I slowly looked down at the puff, watching a fluffy white tail dart out from the snow. I jumped back as a dog's head poked out, staring straight at me. My eyes were wide.

"H-Hey there. . . little. . . . . guy. . . . ?"

The dog stood from the snow, dressed in a full suit of heavy armor and holding a tall spear. How did all of that even fit under all that snow? The dog let out two squeaky barks, kneeling down in front of me. I stared at him.

"H-Hey, big guy," I rephrased my sentence this time.

I raised my hand hesitantly, giving the dog a scratch behind the ears. His head leaned into my touch, and he let out two more barks, his tail wagging happily. I smiled, kneeling down slowly and gathering a bunch of snow in my hands. I pressed it into a tight ball, chucking it. The dog bounded after it, gathering all the splattered snow and bringing it back, plopping it back into my hands. I giggled, pressing it back into a ball and continuing this multiple times.

The dog flopped onto the ground beside me. I watched in amusement as he tried to squeeze out of his armor, before landing on the snow with a 'clump'. He barked, bounding over to me and licking my face frantically. He was no longer a giant, armor-clad dog, but instead a medium sized fluffy, white dog.

"I gotta go, alright?" I laughed, pushing the dog away from me gently.

He barked, nuzzling his nose against my hand. He sat in the snow. I smiled, giving him another pat, before continuing on the path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter. I'll hopefully be putting up a longer one later on this weekend. Hopefully everyone enjoys. I'm enjoying writing all these puzzle scenes honestly. Papy is just the best.


	10. Wouldn't Hurt a Fly

When I found myself standing at the end of a very long and sketchy bridge, I was not impressed. I hesitantly put my foot out, pressing down on the first wooden board of the bridge, half expecting it to just snap in half with the weight. It creaked, but didn't snap. I swallowed the lump in my throat, leaning over, looking over the edge. Below was the largest ravine I'd ever seen in my life. There were trees at the very bottom, and what almost looked like a small river.

I fully stepped onto the bridge, expecting the wood to give out with my full weight. It didn't. Using every ounce of confidence I had, I took another step onto the bridge. Then another. And, finally, I was just speed-walking to get to the other side. I didn't make it though, as I was stopped once again by two skeletons. Papyrus had a stern look on his face, hands resting proudly on his hips. Sans stood silently beside him, his grin still lazily stretched across his face. I looked between them, confused as to what the puzzle would be this time.

"HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!"

My eyes must've been as wide as dinner plates as I found _actually_ deadly weapons suddenly aimed at me from all directions. A fireblower, a spear, a mace, and. . . a dog? I supposed that dogs would be rather dangerous to guys completely made out of bone.

I looked at Sans, who didn't look fazed in the slightest. He shot me a wink. I swallowed down the fear that had set in. Sans didn't look worried about whether or not Papyrus would actually set off the weapons, so maybe I shouldn't worry either. Besides, Papyrus definitely didn't seem like the kind of person who'd actually try to kill someone. I had a feeling that things would turn out just fine, and if I was gonna die then it wouldn't be from Papyrus' weapons. Hell, I was half-certain that it would be from this bridge collapsing.

"WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!! ARE YOU READY, HUMAN?!"

I shuddered with every description of his trap, glancing at every weapon aimed at me. I had no doubt that it wouldn't do every single thing he described.

"I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!"

We stood in silence for a few moments. I glanced between the two brothers. Sans looked smug as ever, and I wondered if he had something to do with the lack of activation in Papyrus' trap.

"well? what's the holdup?" Sans questioned, turning to face his brother.

"HOLDUP?" Papyrus scoffed. "WHAT HOLDUP!? I'M. . . I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!"

Another few moments of silence and a lack of swinging spikes, firing cannons, and slicing blades.

"that, uh, doesn't look very activated, bro."

"WELL! THIS CHALLENGE! IT SEEMS. . . MAYBE TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN WITH! YEAH, WE CAN'T USE THIS ONE! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS! MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR! AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED! BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL! AWAY IT GOES!"

I sighed in relief, feeling the tension in my muscles let out. Papyrus' weapons disappeared, and I momentarily paused to question where they'd gone and come from. I didn't think about it for long, watching Papyrus turn away, his back facing me. He looked relieved.

"PHEW!" Papyrus huffed.

Papyrus turned back toward me. I stared at him.

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT? THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS! NYEH! HEH! . . . . . . HEH? ? ?"

I watched with a snort as Papyrus dashed off once again. Sans chuckled, wiping the snow off his jacket. He walked across the remainder of the bridge, toward me. He held out his hand.

"c'mon, kiddo. that's the last one, i swear. we're almost to snowdin now, and you're lookin' a little chilly."

I smiled, taking his hand. He guided me off the bridge, onto the safety of land. He released my hand once we were off the bridge, which I quickly stuffed into the pocket of my coat. Sans did the same with his.

"for the record," Sans started as we began walking, "i knew paps wasn't gonna activate it. he likes you, i can already tell. i would've done something if i knew he'd activate it."

I smiled a bit.

"Yeah, I figured. I didn't think he was gonna activate it either."

"he's a real good guy," Sans chuckled, his voice full of pride for his brother, "he wouldn't hurt a fly, honestly."

I smiled at the way Sans talked about his brother.

"So, I'm assuming you're the older brother, then?"

Sans chuckled.

"that's me. older brother sans."

We fell into a comfortable silence. Sans guided me into a small town. We passed a sign that read "Welcome to Snowdin Town", which was decorated in what looked like Christmas lights. The town was peaceful and quaint. As we walked, I noticed many different types of monsters of all sorts. There were bunny-like monsters, bear monsters, and all sorts of other monsters. None of them spared me a second glance, obviously not interested in Sans or I.

"welp, here's home."

I ran into Sans' back as he abruptly stopped. He looked over his shoulder, giving me a smug smirk. I awkwardly stepped back, cheeks flushing from embarrassment.

"Sorry."

Sans chuckled.

"all good. at least i know to _watch my back_ with you around."

I let out an attractive snort at the joke. Sans grinned in response, before the two of us looked up at the large house he'd stopped in front of. It, like the rest of the things in town, was decorated in Christmas lights. The house was rather large compared to the rest of the houses in the town, and it already had a homey feeling, even just standing outside.

"figured you could stay with pap and i while alph is working on the medical stuff."

"Alph?"

"oh. . . right."

Sans chuckled awkwardly, before opening the front door for me. I stepped inside quickly, grateful for the warmth that instantly surrounded me. I let my eyes wander around the house as Sans stepped inside.

"alphys is the royal scientist who's gonna help you out. i'll give her a call and see if she can come out. anyway, you can stay here until she gets your stuff figured out. who knows how long it'll take, so i wouldn't want you paying for a room at the inn if you're gonna be here a while." Sans explained, casually kicking off his slippers. Directly in front of the door. . .

I bit my lip, staying silent about the slippers. He walked past me casually, plopping onto the green couch in the center of the room. It made a small 'jingle' sound. I realized there must've been a lot of lost money beneath the couch cushions. Sans whipped out his cell phone. I kicked off my shoes, stepping further into the house.

"upstairs is a guest room. it's not really set up, but i can have paps grab you some sheets and blankets when he gets home. shouldn't be too much longer now. i'll call alph quick if you wanna go check out the room," Sans turned his head, looking at me, "the guest room is the door at the very end of the hallway. the other two rooms are mine and paps. your room'll be the one beside the bathroom." He grinned a bit.

I nodded, trying to process all the information he was giving me. I turned toward the staircase, taking one step at a time. I stopped about halfway up, turning to look at Sans.

"Hey, Sans?"

His eyelights snapped up toward me.

"yeah, kiddo?"

I smiled.

"Thanks for everything."

Sans' grin stretched wider. He waved me off.

"anytime, brat."

I snickered, before continuing up the stairs. I followed Sans' directions, ignoring a first door, which was obviously Papyrus' bedroom. It was decorated with caution tape and signs ordering people to stay out. I wondered why he needed the signs if it was just him and Sans. . . Shrugging it off, I continued. I passed another door. The door itself was blank, but beneath it seemed to be weird green, blue, yellow, and orange light slithering from beneath it. I momentarily wondered what the cause of the light was, but decided to move on as I realized it was probably Sans' room. What a weird guy.

As Sans had said, at the end of the hallway was another blank door, this time with no weird lights coming from beneath it. Beside it was another door, which was opened to reveal a perfectly clean bathroom. I opened the door to the guest room, and was pleasantly surprised to see a very nice little bedroom. The bed was currently "naked", just a mattress and some caseless pillows. I stepped inside, looking around the room in awe. There was a fairly large window, which had a beautiful view of the snowy forest outside. There was a closet on the opposite side from the bed, along with a dresser beneath the window. The carpet of the floor was clean and soft beneath my feet.

The room almost reminded me of my room at Toriel's place, though the bed in this room was much bigger and this room had an actual window with a beautiful view.

"like it?"

I turned toward Sans, who leaned casually on the doorframe, arms crossed. He'd taken off his coat, revealing the bones of his lower arms. I smiled at him.

"It's amazing. Thank you, Sans. You really don't have to do all this."

Sans chuckled, shrugging.

"feels like i should. besides, it isn't a big deal. it's just a place for you to stay while you're getting your medical stuff all figured out."

I thought about the first thing he'd said, blinking in confusion. Sans didn't seem to think about it much, quickly moving on without much more comment on it.

"anyway, i called pap. he said he's, and i quote, 'perfectly fine with the human staying as long as you don't make awful puns in his presence like his lame brother'," he snickered.

We both laughed at his attempt to impersonate his little brother. Sans' impersonation was totally off, since his voice was considerably deeper than Papyrus', making the attempt at mocking a complete fail.

"That was awful," I stated.

"i'll work on my impersonation skills," Sans sniggered, amused, "anyway, you're good to stay here on both mine and my brother's terms. i also called alphys. she's gonna head over in about an hour. so, for now you can shower or do whatever you humans do to warm up. i'll um. . . i'll wash your clothes, i guess, if you just leave them outside the door."

I nodded to him, wearing a wide smile.

"Thank you. I'm gonna call my mom first before I shower, though."

Sans nodded, straightening up from the doorway. He waved his hand.

"i'll leave ya to it then, kiddo. i'll be downstairs if ya need anything."

Without another word, I watched in awe as Sans disappeared. I heard shuffling from downstairs, and realized Sans had just teleported himself down there. I wasn't sure I'd ever get used to a teleporting skeleton. . . it was totally awesome.

I sat on the comfortable bed, pulling out my cellphone. I clicked on Toriel's number, listening to it ring a few times, before there was the soft 'click' of her picking up.

"Hello?"

I instantly smiled at the familiar sound of her voice.

"Hey, Mom."

"Oh! My child! I was wondering when you would call!"

"I promised I'd call you."

"I know. I suppose I was just worrying over nothing."

I could hear the smile in her voice. I shifted on the bed a bit, bringing my knees to my chest and hugging them. I rested my chin on my knees, taking a moment to cringe at the wetness of my jeans. I really would have to shower to warm and clean up.

"How are you, _____? Have you met up with your guardian? You aren't having any troubles with anyone, are you?"

"No, Tori, I'm actually doing really great," I responded with a smile, "and Sans is pretty great. He's really looking out for me. I also met his brother, who's so sweet and kind."

"You've already made friends?"

"I don't know if I'd call them friends, _technically,_ but I hope that I can become friends with them soon."

I heard Toriel's soft chuckle from the other end of the line. There was a slight shuffling sound as we both fell into silence for a few moments.

"Have you met with the doctor yet?"

"Not yet, but she's going to be here in about an hour to look at me. Sans called her the moment we made it to his house. He's letting me stay here with him, Mom. The view from my room is so awesome."

Toriel laughed.

"I'm very glad things are going well for you, my dear! You could definitely text a picture of the view to me, if that's what it's called. I'm awful with this technology stuff."

I snickered.

"Yeah, I'll definitely text it to you. Hey, I'm gonna go shower. I'll call you again tomorrow and let you know how everything went with Doctor Alphys."

"Of course, my child. I love you."

My heart ached slightly. I missed Toriel already, and it hadn't even been a full day since we'd last seen one another. I just had a feeling I wouldn't be seeing her for a very long time.

"I love you too, Mom."

Toriel bid me another farewell, before we parted ways. I, of course, texted her a picture of the view from the window. I waited anxiously for her response, which came not long later with a grinning emoji, followed by a thumbs up. Then came a text that read, 'still don't know how this texting thing works.' I laughed at that, before laying my cellphone on the nightstand and heading to the bathroom to shower.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh!! I am so sorry for not updating for the last two weeks! I have been insanely busy lately and I got hit with a hard case of writers block. I'll definitely try to spit out the other update that I missed as soon as I possibly can! I'll also try to get back onto a normal updating schedule! Please enjoy this short chapter! Everyone loves some goat-mom moments!


	11. TEMPORARY HIATUS

Hey, everyone!  I want to apologize in advance before I go into my explanation.  I honestly feel like shit about this, but it needs to be done.  I'm going to be putting this story on a temporary hiatus because of things going on around me.  I don't have time to update every week, due to school, work, family things, and other things happening.  This will probably be on hiatus for a month or two, but I'll try my hardest to end it sooner.  I'm so sorry to do this to you guys, considering that you guys are so awesome for reading this in the first place.  Hopefully I'll spit out a chapter as soon as I can, but I just don't have the time right now.  Hopefully you guys stick around in a month, because once I have the chance, I'll definitely be coming out with the best chapter you've ever seen in your life!

I'm also going to try to keep doing one-shots whenever I have the time, so if you guys still want to read some of my work, I'll definitely be trying to do one-shots for all different sorts of fandoms.  Undertale, Supernatural, Dragon Age, etc. (I did say I was literal trash for everything)

Sorry again and thank you all for understanding!

-Author

**Author's Note:**

> ///Updates will be every Friday, and potentially on extra days throughout how kind I'm feeling at the time. Hah. Enjoy!\\\\\


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